Regents Living Environment
2011 – ’12
Thinking Like a Scientist
Ms. Bartholomew
Scientific Inquiry Lab
Student Instructions
Aim:

What does it mean to think like a scientist?

What is a testable question?

What makes a good hypothesis and experiment to test it?
Materials: For each group of 4 students:

Termites (one package of 50 or more should be enough for at least 3 or 4 classes –
termites can be purchased from Carolina Biological Supply)

Paintbrushes

Paper

Papermate pens (red, blue and black ink)

Bic pens (red, blue and black ink)
Procedure:
Day 1 - 45 minutes
1. Read and discuss the following scenario:
Scenario
You are a scientist, and you were working late last night. You drew a diagram in different
colors of ink, and it looked similar to the drawing on the board. While you were writing and
drawing the diagram in your notebook, you nodded off. When you awoke, you found there
was a termite in the middle of diagram. You watched the termite’s response to the ink on
the page, and it made you wonder. Next, you called in you friend, who is also a scientist.
Together you made a prediction about what the termite was doing. Questions about the
termite and its behavior led you to start experimenting and making careful observations to
see if your prediction was correct.
2. Pick up 1 set of materials for their table.
3. Use the colored pens and create a simple line diagram like the one that might have
been found in the notebook (see the board). Observe the termite’s behavior and
record observations on your looseleaf paper.
4. Brainstorm and develop at least 3 questions and record them on your looseleaf.
HINT: Make a list of all of the variables (in other words, factors) that could be
affecting the behavior of the termite. Then use your list to create a list of questions
such as “How does _________ affect the behavior of the termite?”
Regents Living Environment
2011 – ’12
Ms. Bartholomew
Scientific Inquiry Lab
5. Talk with your partner and choose 1 question about the termite’s behavior that you
think you might be able to answer through experimenting.
6. Make predictions about the answers to their questions on their looseleaf. Then, they
should provide reasoning for their predictions.
7. Develop and write out a procedure to test their hypothesis in class on the next day.
Day 2 – 45 minutes
9. Students should gather materials, follow their procedures and run the experiment.
They should record all observations on their looseleaf.
10.Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Discussion Questions:
Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability in COMPLETE SENTENCES.
Explain yourself and be specific.
1. In order to think as a scientist does, what do you need to do?
2. Explain the results of your experiment.
3. Write a paragraph about scientific thinking using all of the following terms:
explanation
evidence
prediction
logic
questions
observations
4. Explain whether you agree or disagree with each of the following statements:
- Scientists observe without making any judgments; scientific observations are
objective and bias free.
- If two scientists run the same experiment and have similar observations, they will
develop the same explanation for the results.