Scientific Method Review
Do not write on this sheet. Do not write on this sheet. Do not write on this sheet.
Steps of the Scientific Method
Draw the Flow Chart exactly the way you see it.
What is an observation (4)?
Asking a Question
What is a hypothesis (5)?
Forming a Hypothesis
Setting up a Controlled
Experiment
Why is important to have a control group in an
experiment (9)?
Recording and
Analyzing Results
What is an independent variable (Independent
Variable)?
What is a dependent variable (9)?
What is the difference between quantitative and
qualitative data (4)?
Drawing a Conclusion
When does a hypothesis become a theory (13)?
Write questions out.
1. Two students were testing the amount of
fertilizer that would best promote the
growth of blueberries. Which of the
following could be an unavoidable source of
experimental error?
A. variation of blueberry plants
B. the cost of the materials
C. how much water is given to each
plant
D. length of the experiment
STOP WORK HERE
2. In freshwater environments, populations of a
bacteria are almost entirely female and
reproduce asexually. However, males are
observed in low oxygen environments. Based
on these observations, a researcher suggests
that the male bacteria develop in response to
unfavorable conditions. This is example of a
A. data
B. theory
C. observation
D. hypothesis
STOP WORK HERE
STOP WORK HERE
Design an Experiment
Given the following scientific problem: Does the wavelength of light (R.O.Y.G.B.I.V.)
affect a plant’s growth?
Design an experiment that you can do to answer this experimental question. You
need to identify a control group, an experimental group, independent and dependent variables
and what type of data would be gathered.
The Chirping Cricket Conundrum
You noticed that a cricket outside your window seems to be chirping every night, but some
nights it chirps faster than others. A friend of yours told you that you can use the sound of a
cricket chirp to tell the temperature. Curious, you decide to design an experiment. You think
that the frequency of cricket chirps will change as the temperature changes.
To set up the experiment, you go out to your yard and capture a few crickets. You bring them
inside and place them in a container. All your cricket subjects are housed in the same
environment (same lighting, same food, same water..etc). You get that set up and take the
temperature of your room. You wait for the crickets to start chirping. You count how many
times the cricket chirps for a 5 minute period.
Then you compare that number with the chirps that occur at different temperatures. You use a
heating pad, and ice as a way to lower or raise their temperature; then you take data for 5
minutes at the new temperatures.
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What was the initial observation in this scenario?
State the problem being investigated.
What was the hypothesis?
What kind of data was being collected?
Identify the independent variable.
Identify the dependent variable.
Draw the experimental setup for this experiment. Use color, and label your drawing with
the following:
a. control group
b. experimental group
c. a data table (make up the figures and numbers)
d. a results graph