The six branches Science we will cover:
1. Geology – study of earth’s origin, history, structure
2. Meteorology -- The study of Earth’s atmosphere, weather, &
climate.
3. Oceanography - The study of Earth’s oceans.
4. Astronomy - The study of everything outside of Earth’s
atmosphere.
5. Environmental Science - The study of earth’s natural
resources
6. Chemistry – The study of elements and their interactions.
“The Scientific Method”
A. What is the scientific method?
1. The scientific method is a systematic
approach to solving scientific problems.
B. Terms you need to know when using the
scientific method.
1. Hypothesis- A proposed solution to a problem.
2. Theory- A logical explanation for an event
that occurs in nature.
3. Law- A theory that is accepted as fact
over many tests.
4. Control- An experiment run without a
variable.
5. Scientific Method – Process of problem
solving
The Steps of the scientific
method!
1. Identify or state the problem.
2. Gather information on the problem.
3. Form a hypothesis.
4. Run the test or experiment.
5. Record & analyze your data.
6. State your conclusion.
7. Repeat your experiment if necessary.
100
80
60
East
40
West
20
North
0
1st Q tr
2nd Q tr
3rd Q tr
4th Q tr
Types of Variables
When conducting an experiment there are 2 types of variables.
1. Independent variable (Manipulated variable)
-- the factor scientists change
2. Dependent variable (Responding Variable)
-- factor that scientist measure as a result
Example: Does warm water freeze faster than cold water?
Independent variable = temperature of water
Dependent variable = time it takes to freeze
Scientific Method
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 it 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?
What should SpongeBob do to test
the Flower Power fertilizer?
Scientific Method

Mr. Krabs created a secret ingredient for a breath
mint that he thinks will “cure” the bad breath
people get from eating crabby patties at the
Krusty Krab. He asked 100 customers with a
history of bad breath to try his breath mint. He
had 50 eat a breath mint after they finished
eating a crabby patty. (Group A) The other 50
also received a breath mint after they finished
the sandwich, however, it was just a regular mint
and did not have the secret ingredient. (Group B)
Both groups were told that they were getting the
min that would cure their bad breath. 2 hours
after eating the crabby patties, 30 customers in
Group A and ten customers in Group B reported
having better breath than they normally had
after eating crabby patties.
Which people are in the control group?
Those that received regular mints
What is the independent variable?
The secret ingredient mint
What is the dependent variable?
Whether they had fresher breath or not
What should Mr. Krab’s conclusion be?
The secret ingredient worked
Why do you think 10 people in group B reported fresher
breath?
They didn’t normally eat breath mints, ect
Scientific Method
SpongeBob noticed that his favorite
pants were not as clean as they
used to be. His friend Sandy told
him that he should try using
Clean-O detergent, a new laundry
soap she found at Sail-Mart.
SpongeBob made sure to wash
one pair of pants in plain water
and another pair in water with the
Clean-O detergent. After washing
both pairs of pants a total of three
times, the pants washed in the
Clean-O detergent did not appear
to be any cleaner then pants
washed in plain water.
What was the problem SpongeBob wanted to investigate?
Whether the Clean-O worked better
What is the independent variable?
Type of detergent
What is the dependent variable?
How clean his pants came out
What should SpongeBob conclusion be?
Clean-O does not work any better
Scientific Method
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 types of 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.
“The Metric System”
A. Why do we need to learn the metric system?
1. So scientists can communicate with each
other.
2. One universal language.
B. The metric system is a decimal system.
1. Our money system is an example of a
decimal system.
Scientific Measurement
“Types of Metric Measurements”
A. Length- How long or wide something is.
1. The meter (m) is used to measure length
when using the metric system.
2. How do you use the prefixes?
a.) 1000m = ________1________km
b.) 100m = ________1________hm
c.) 10m = ________1________dam
d.) .1m = ________1________dm
e.) .01m = ________1________cm
f.) .001m = ________1________mm
B. Mass- The measure of the amount of matter in an object.
1. The gram (g) is used to measure mass when
using the metric system.
2. How do you use the prefixes?
a.) 1000g = ________1________kg
b.) 100g = ________1________hg
c.) 10g = ________1________dag
d.) .1g = ________1________dg
e.) .01g = ________1________cg
f.) .001g = ________1________mg