SCIENTIFIC PROCESSES
Observing: Using the five senses to learn about an object or event, or to collect
information about an object.
quantitative - deals with numbers or amounts
qualitative - deals with descriptions that cannot be expressed in numbers (using your senses)
Classifying: Placing objects or events into groups based on common
characteristics/attributes.
Measuring: Determining the length (meters), area (A = L x W),
volume (liters (liquid) OR V = L x W x H (regular shaped objects)), mass (grams)
or temperature (⁰C) to describe and quantify objects.
Communicating: Describing an object or event and/or sharing of ideas and
results through writing and or speaking.
Inferring and Predicting:
Infer - Reasoning or drawing a conclusion about an object or event
based upon an observation or prior knowledge
Predict - making a statement or claim about what will happen in the
future based on past experience or evidence
Controlling Variables/Factors: Studying how attributes vary by manipulating
variables.
manipulated (independent) variable - a variable that has been purposely changed
responding (dependent) variable - the variable that changed in response to the
manipulated variable
Representing data: Organizing measurements/data to make your information
easier to use and interpret (graphs, tables, charts).
Experimenting: Putting all the process skills in one activity.
The Scientific Method
Purpose/Question: What do you want to learn?
Research: Find out as much about your topic as you can.
Hypothesis: Predict the answer to the problem (If...then...because…).
Experiment: Design a test to confirm or disprove your hypothesis.
Analysis/Evaluate: Record what happened during the experiment.
Conclusion: Summarize what you learned. Was your hypothesis
correct or not AND why?