Scientific Method

A blueprint for

experiment success.

What is the scientific method?

It is a simple method scientists use to conduct an investigation.

It is a way to ask & answer scientific questions by asking questions & conducting experiments.

I. Question/Problem

Ask a question about something observed.– Why?– How?– What?

Question to be solved. Must be about something measurable.

Preliminary Research

Before a hypothesis can be made, background information is collected.

II. Hypothesis

Educated guess about how things work. Prediction Use If, then statements

– If ____ [I do this], then _____ [this will happen]

Tests your hypothesis. Focus on only changing one variable at

a time (independent). Use a control group (A group that has

nothing done to it. Standard used for comparison in an experiment.)

In order for results to be valid, conduct several trials and average the results.

III. Experiment

III. Experiment

Record your data in a data table.– Quantitative Data: Numerical data organized in

rows and columns. Examples: 33 cm, 2.4 g– Qualitative Data: Observations that are not

numerical. Examples: red color, bubbles, smoky smell

III. Experiment

Trial Variable 1 Variable 2 Variable 3

1

2

3

4

5

AVERAGE

Title: Describing the Data

IV. Data Analysis

Analyze the data– Calculate the average (Mean) of

quantitative data. Graph

– Graph the data to look for trends & relationships.

V. Conclusion

Summary of your experiment. After your experiment, analyze your

data to see if your hypothesis was accepted or rejected.

If hypothesis is rejected, give possible reasons for the difference between your hypothesis and the experimental results. – If rejected, construct a new hypothesis and

test it.