Each step of scientific inquiry corresponds to one letter in the “word”. These letters represent the first letter of each

word involved in scientific inquiry!!

I’ve created a sentence that will help you memorize these steps. Here are two clues to help you!!

Working like a scientist is easy! All you have to do is memorize this “word”…

Now, what do those words really stand for when we are talking about scientific inquiry?

Scientists usually begin an investigation with a question about

something that is unexplained.

Ex: Does the shape of ice affect how quickly the ice

melts? ?

After they pose this question, scientists make

and

Inferences are interpretations (or

assumptions) based on observations and prior

knowledge.

Ex: The ice is clear so it was made from water.

Observations involve using one or more of your

senses to gather information.

Ex: color of the ice, surface texture of ice,

volume of the ice

?#3 ?#6

A hypothesis is a possible explanation for a set of observations or an answer to a scientific question. It must be something that can be tested. After a hypothesis is tested once, it must be tested several other times to make sure the results are consistent. Sometimes a hypothesis is stated as “I think…” or “If…then…” We will most often use just a statement that answers the question.

The shape of ice has no

effect on the speed of melting.

Ex:

?

Variables – all the factors that could affect the outcome of an experiment

Manipulated variable – the factor that scientists change (Ex: shape of ice)

Controlled experiment – one in which there is only one manipulated variable and all other variables are kept constant

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?#5

Data – facts, figures and other evidence collected in an experiment. Data come in the forms of descriptions or measurements.

While conducting an experiment, scientists collect

Once all the data have been collected, scientists need to interpret, or find the meaning of, these data.

Interpreting data involves looking for patterns or trends. Data can be displayed in:

Ex:

earth

moon orbit̀ s

earth

last (third)quarter

gibbous moon

full moon

gibbous moon

first quarter

crescent

new moon

crescent

waning Moon

waxing Moon

SUN

diagrams, tables or graphs.

?

Sometimes the data will support the hypothesis.

After all data are interpreted, scientists are ready to draw a conclusion.

Usually any findings will lead to a new question and a new experiment!!

Sometimes it will show the hypothesis is incorrect and that’s OK. Eliminating a hypothesis is as important as proving it.

Sometimes no conclusion can be reached. This means that scientists need to design more experiments to gather more data.

The conclusion should be written in paragraph form and must include the following:

-Explain the problem (Don’t just restate it.) -Restate the hypothesis

-State if the hypothesis was correct or not correct

-Explain how you conducted the experiment including a summary of the data

-Predict the next question that could be tested

QUESTION

OBSERVATION

INFERENCE

HYPOTHESIS

EXPERIMENT

DATA

CONCLUSION End

Click HERE to begin!

What is the first step

of scientific inquiry?

Hypothesis

Question

Inference

A ___ is one in which there

is only one manipulated

variable and all others are

constant.

Controlled experiment

Variable

Manipulated variable

___ are interpretations or

assumptions based on

observations and prior

knowledge.

Observations

Questions

Inferences

Data can be represented in

diagrams, tables or ___.

Graphs

Pictures

Maps

___ are all the factors that

could affect the outcome of

an experiment.

Variables

Data

Experiments

Which step involves using

your senses to gather more

information?

Inference

Hypothesis

Observation

A ___ is a possible

explanation for a question.

Hypothesis

Question

Graph

On the next slide, identify

each statement as one of

the steps of Scientific

Inquiry.

Click HERE to see

example of

homework!

_____Does the shape of an ice cube affect how quickly it melts?

_____ Freeze the same amount of water into two different shapes. Place each block

of ice on identical surfaces and expose them to identical sources of heat for the same

amount of time. Observe, measure and record the amount of liquid in the container

every five minutes.

_____The ice is white, so it must be made of pure water.

_____I think the shape of an object (ice) has no effect on the speed of melting.

_____In my experiment I was testing to determine if the shape of ice affects the melting

speed of the ice. I hypothesized that the shape would not affect the speed of melting. The

experiment was conducted 5 times. The long rectangular shaped ice melted an average of 4

minutes before the square block. This data does not support my hypothesis. I will continue

this experiment with larger volumes of ice in the same shapes.

Shape

of ice

mL/1

minute

mL/2

minutes

mL/3

minutes

mL/4

minutes

square

3 mL

9 mL

18 mL

20 mL

rectang

ular

5 mL

10 mL

20 mL

25 mL

____

Answer!

Use these letters: Q E O/I H C D

_____Does the shape of an ice cube affect how quickly it melts?

_____ Freeze the same amount of water into two different shapes. Place each block

of ice on identical surfaces and expose them to identical sources of heat for the same

amount of time. Observe, measure and record the amount of liquid in the container

every five minutes.

_____The ice is white, so it must be made of pure water.

_____The shape of an object (ice) has no effect on the speed of melting.

_____In my experiment I was testing to determine if the shape of ice affects the melting

speed of the ice. I hypothesized that the shape would not affect the speed of melting. The

experiment was conducted 5 times. The long rectangular shaped ice melted an average of 4

minutes before the square block. This data does not support my hypothesis. I will continue

this experiment with larger volumes of ice in the same shapes.

Shape

of ice

mL/1

minute

mL/2

minutes

mL/3

minutes

mL/4

minutes

square

3 mL

9 mL

18 mL

20 mL

rectang

ular

5 mL

10 mL 20 mL

25 mL

____

Q

E

O/I H

C

D

End!