Chapter 1 Section 2
Scientific Methods
What are Scientific Methods
• What do Scientists use scientific methods for?
To answer questions and to solve problems
• What two things do all life scientists have in
common?
They are curious about the natural world and
they use similar methods to investigate it.
• Scientific Methods- A series of steps followed
to solve problems
What are Scientific Methods
• What are the steps of the scientific method?
1) Asking a question
2) Forming a hypothesis
3) Testing the hypothesis
4) Analyzing the results
5) Drawing Conclusions
6) Communicating the results
Scientists may not always use every step in the
scientific method.
Asking a Question and Observations
• What does asking a question do?
Helps focus the purpose of an investigation
• Observation- Is any use of the senses to gather
information
• When can observations be made? At any point during
an investigation
• What are some examples of observations?
1) Measurement: Length, Volume, speed, time etc.
2) Color or shape
3) behavior
Forming a Hypothesis
• When do you form a hypothesis? After you
have asked a question and made observations
• Hypothesis- Is a possible answer or
explanation to your question
• What must a good hypothesis be? Testable
• If your hypothesis is not testable there is no
way to show whether it is right or wrong
Forming a Hypothesis
• What do scientists often do before they test a
hypothesis? Make predictions of what they
think will happen
Testing the Hypothesis
• Why is it important to test your hypothesis?
Testing your hypothesis tells you if your answer is
reasonable and if your on the right track.
• What is a CONTROLLED Experiment? A controlled
experiment compares results between two tested
groups when all factors are the same except one.
Data- Any pieces of information gotten through
experimentation
Analyzing Results
• What make data and, or the relationship
between information easier to see?
Organizing data into tables and graphs.
• What will help you determine if your data was
accurate? Repeated Tests
• When is data considered reproducible?
When you get the same or similar data after
many tests.
Drawing Conclusions
• At the end of your investigation, what will
your conclusion determine? If your results
support or don’t support your hypothesis
• What should you do if your hypothesis is not
supported by your results?
1)Change your procedure
2)Gather more information
3)Ask new questions
Communicating Results
• What are 3 ways you can communicate your
results?
1)Write a scientific paper
2)Make a presentation
3)Create a web site.
• Why is it important to tell others what you
learned during your investigation?
Sharing what you learned keeps science going and
other scientists can conduct experiments based
on what they learned from your results.