Remember write today’s date
Warm-up
How do you solve problems in
your life? List the steps in the
scientific method and compare
them to how you solve
problems.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kf51FpBuXQ
Scientific Method
What is the
scientific
method?
A specific
way a
scientist
solves a
problem
Step 1:
Define the
problem/
Ask a
Question
 Questions should begin
with what, why, how, and
when in order to help
focus the investigation
and research.
 Good questions
come from careful
observations.
 How does acid rain
affect plant growth?
science illusions
 A hypothesis is a clear
statement of what you
Step 2: Form
a Hypothesis
expect the answer to
your question to be.
 A good hypothesis is
testable.
 A hypothesis will
represent your best
“educated guess”
 A hypothesis can lead to
predictions.
Step 2: Form a Hypothesis
• What is a prediction:
• A prediction is what you think the outcome of
your experiment or data collection will be.
• Predictions are usually stated in an If
statement.
then
Recap
 Step 1: How does acid rain affect plant
growth?
 Step 2: Hypothesis- Acid rain slows plant
growth
 Prediction: If a plant is watered with only
acid rain (which has a pH of 4), then the
plant will grow at half its normal rate.
How?
Step 3:
Test the
Hypothesis
 Controlled Experiment:
Tests only one factor at a
time.
 There are two types of
groups in Controlled
Experiments.
 Control Group: Would be
watered with normal rain
water.
 Experimental Group:
Would be watered with
acid rain.

Step 3: Test the hypothesis
 A variable is any
What is a
variable?
factor that can be
controlled or
changed from one
group to another
during an
experiment.
 Two types:
Dependent and
independent
Step 3: Test the Hypothesis
• Dependant Variable: the variable that
controls the results of the experiment.
•
•
If the hypothesis is correct, then plant
growth is dependant variables.
The amount of plant growth is
dependent on the acidity of the water.
Step 3: Test the Hypothesis
• Independent Variable: factors that can change
the outcome of the experiment.
• The type of water each plant receives. Normal water pH of
7. Acidic water pH of 4.
Step 4: Collect
Data and
analyze the
Results
examine all
information
thus far in the
experiment (i.e.
observations
and data)
 Tables and graphs are
often used during this
step to organize the data.
 After analyzing your
Step 5:
Draw
Conclusions
data, determine if
your results match
your hypothesis.
 If your observations match
your hypothesis, retest your
experiment to verify your
results.
 If your observations do not
match your hypothesis, check
your procedures for errors.
 You may have to discredit
your hypothesis and make up
a new one.
Step 6:
Communicate
Results
• When you complete an oral
or written report about
your results, you let other
people know what you’ve
learned.
• Some reports may even
lead to another question
and then another
investigation.
•
For example: Modern Atomic theory
is a result of many different
experiments whose results were
published.
What are
the six
steps of
the
Scientific
Method?
Step 1 –
• Ask a Question
Step 2 –
• Form a Hypothesis
Step 3 –
• Test the Hypothesis
Step 4 –
• Analyze the Results
Step 5 –
• Draw Conclusions
Step 6 –
• Communicate Results
Create your own Scientific
Experiment
 Each of Lab Groups will be given 24 note
cards and 20cm of tape.
 You must use the Scientific Method to
figure out how these supplies can holdup Mrs. V. Murphy at least 5cm. on a
plywood board. Each group must turn
in a written report of how you followed
the scientific method steps to solve the
problem.
Warm-up
 How do you solve problems in your
life? List the steps in the scientific
method and compare them to how
you solve problems.
Create an investigation…
 Make a prediction to answer the following
question by using the scientific method- be
sure to include a graph displaying your data.
After writing your prediction gather what you
need and work in table groups (make sure
your hypothesis has an if…then… statement).
 Is there a relationship between arm span
and height? (use cm for measuring)
 If your group finishes this investigation using
all of the steps of the scientific method
compare foot size to the length of your
forearm.
Sponge Bob Square Pants
and
The Scientific Method
Can you find the mistakes that
Sponge Bob Square Pants
made when completing his experiments?
• Discuss scenarios in your table group
The Bikini Bottom gang loves science class and wanted to do a
little research. Read the description
for each experiment and use your knowledge of the scientific
method to answer the questions.
(1) Flower Power
SpongeBob loves to garden and wants to grow lots of pink flowers for his
pal Sandy. He bought a special Flower Power fertilizer to see if will help
plants produce more flowers. He plants two plants of the same size in
separate containers with the same amount of potting soil. He places one
plant in a sunny window and waters it every day with fertilized water. He
places the other plant on a shelf in a closet and waters it with plain water
every other day.
 What did SpongeBob do wrong in this experiment? Explain.
 What should SpongeBob do to test the effectiveness of Flower Power
fertilizer? Write an experiment.
(2) Super Snails
Gary is not the smartest snail in Bikini Bottom and
believes he can improve his brain power by eating Super
Snail Snacks. In order to test this hypothesis, he recruits
SpongeBob and several snail friends to help him with the
experiment. The snails ate one snack with each meal
every day for three weeks. SpongeBob created a test and
gave it to the snails before they started eating the snacks
as well as after three weeks.
 Based on the data provided, do the Super Snail Snacks
work? Explain your answer.
 (3) Bubble Time
Patrick loves bubble gum and would like to be able to
blow bigger bubbles than anyone else in Bikini Bottom.
To prepare for the Bikini Bottom Big Bubble Contest, he
bought five different brands of bubble gum and needs
your help to find the brand that creates the biggest
bubbles. Write an experiment to test the bubble power
of the bubble gum brands and help Patrick win the
contest.
 SpongeBob and his Bikini Bottom pals have been
busy doing a little research. Read the
 description for each experiment and answer the
questions.
 Mr. Krabbs wants to make Bikini Bottoms a nicer place
to live. He has created a new sauce that he thinks will
reduce the production of body gas associated with
eating crabby patties from the Krusty Krab. He recruits
100 customers with a history of gas problems. He has 50
of them (Group A) eat crabby patties with the new
sauce. The other 50 (Group B) eat crabby patties with
sauce that looks just like new sauce but is really just
mixture of mayonnaise and food coloring. Both groups
were told that they were getting the sauce that would
reduce gas production. Two hours after eating the
crabby patties, 30 customers in group A reported having
fewer gas problems and 8 customers in group B
reported having fewer gas problems.
 Which people are in the control group?
 What is the independent variable?
 What is the dependent variable?
 What should Mr. Krabs’ conclusion be?
 Why do you think 8 people in group B reported feeling
better?
Warm-up
Kool-aide lab
Read all instructions and discuss
who will do which job
Warm-up
 Write a paragraph summarizing
yesterday’s lab using the following
terms:
 Scientific method
 Hypothesis
 Observation
 Solution
 Experiment
 Conclusion