Scientific Method
• The scientific method is an organized plan
for gathering, organizing, and
communicating information.
• The goal of any scientific method is to solve
a problem or to better understand an
observed event.
Observation
• 1. Observation – is information you obtain
with your senses.
• What do you see?
• What do you hear?
• What do you smell?
• What do you feel?
• What do you taste?
observation
What you see
• The most direct way to
gain knowledge about
something in nature is to
observe it.
• Your ability to observe
can be extended by using
tools such as microscopes,
telescopes, thermometers,
and rulers.
What you smell
• Many times scientists
can identify the
presence of a
chemical, bacteria, or
plant by its scent.
Can you identify the smell in the
containers?
Good Smells
Touch and Feel
Texture –rough or smooth
Taste
• Determining concentration through taste
What do you hear?
• Scientist record
sounds of animals to
determine how species
communicate with
each other.
• Sounds
Making a Question
• After evaluating your observations, ask a
question. What do you want to find out? State
the problem as a question. Make the question
as specific as possible.
• Step_One__Ask_a_Question
Hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a proposed answer to the question
you formulated.
• A hypothesis is an educated guess at the possible
answer to the question.
• What do you think is the cause of the problem you
are studying? State a logical answer to your
question. This answer, which is your hypothesis,
should give one possible explanation for the cause.
Step_Two__Form_a_Hypothesis
Hypothesize
Planned Experiment
• Scientist perform experiments to test their
hypothesis.
• An experiment must be accurate and précised in
order to be reproducible.
• Accuracy – the closeness of a measurement to the
true value of what is measured.
• Precision – is a gauge of how exact a
measurement is. In other words, to you get the
same results each time or are the measurement
values very close each time you measure.
Plan Your Experiment
• The goal of an experiment is to test your
hypothesis. What is the variable? What will
be the control? Write a clear step-by-step
procedure so that another person can repeat
the same process
Components of an Experiment
• Variable – in an experiment any factor that can
change is called a variable.
• Manipulated Variable – the variable that causes a
change in another.
• Responding Variable – the variable that changes
in response to the manipulated variable.
• Control Experiment – has two test groups- the
control group and the experimental group. The
control group is the standard by which any change
can be measured.
Vocabulary
• Constant – The
factors that are kept
the same.
• Variable – The factor
that is changed by the
person doing the
experiment
• Investigative tools
Researching an Experiment
• List the materials necessary to conduct the
experiment
• Design the steps and procedures for the
experiment.
• Design how data will be collected.
Analyze Data
• Evaluate – Do you see any trends or
patterns in the data? Do the data support
your hypothesis or prediction? Do you need
more information?
Step_Four__Analyze_the_Results_of_the_Experiment
Drawing a Conclusion
• State your conclusion
based on your data.
Your data should
either support your
conclusion or lead you
to another hypothesis.
Have any new
questions or problems
come up?
• .
Step_Five__Draw_a_Conclusion
Chart
Presentation of Data
• Information obtain from
observation can be
presented in a variety of
forms to make it easier for
the viewer to obtain facts
quickly.
• Graphs and charts present
are some ways to organize
and present data.
Review
• The_Five_Steps_of_the_Scientific_Method