The Scientific Method
Vocabulary
independent variable- the variable that is changed on purpose (the manipulated variable)
dependent variable- the variable that changes based on the independent variable (depends on independent variable)
hypothesis- an educated guess about what the outcome of an experiment will be
control- the group that is constant; the group that the others are compared to
observation- looking at something to gain knowledge or get information
inference- making a statement based on prior knowledge
independent variable- the variable that is changed on purpose (the manipulated variable)
dependent variable- the variable that changes based on the independent variable (depends on independent variable)
hypothesis- an educated guess about what the outcome of an experiment will be
control- the group that is constant; the group that the others are compared to
observation- looking at something to gain knowledge or get information
inference- making a statement based on prior knowledge
The Steps Of The Scientific Method
1) Ask a Question
1) Ask a Question
- In this step you make an observation or ask a question that you are curious about. This is an important step because it is the inspiration or the reason for the experiment. The question you ask or the observation that you make is the basis for your experiment.
- The Research step is where you gather information about the different components that you will be testing in the experiment. Researching is vital to the Scientific Method. In order to construct a good, thorough, and valid experiment, you must know at least a little bit about the items that you will be working with.
- Hypothesizing is when you make an "if, then" statement. Hypothesizing is a step that should never be skipped, although a lot of people skip it. When you make a hypothesis, you are saying what you think the outcome of the experiment will be. If you skip this step, you will have nothing to compare the actual result to.
- In this step, you will actually complete the experiment. Also, you will create detailed instructions on how you completed the experiment so that others can follow your directions and get the same result. This a super important step because it is actually finding out what is going to be the result.
- When you analyze the results, you are sharing what happened and reflecting on that result. The analysis is important because it is feedback on the results and it provides insight.
- The conclusion is where you reflect on whether or not your hypothesis is correct. You will also talk more about the results of the experiment. You can also talk about whether or not your experiment was valid or not. The conclusion is a nice wrap-up of the experiment. It helps other people understand exactly what happened and how that affects you.
The Scientific Method In Action
Question: What fertilizer will make the tomato plant grow quicker?
Research: What are the top fertilizers? How much fertilizer should you use? What conditions do tomato plants thrive in?
Hypothesis: If I use fertilizer A, the tomato plant will grow faster than if I use no fertilizer.
Experiment: Buy Fertilizer A as well as a packet of Tomato type B. Find a place in the sun and plant the seeds in a sunny place. Give each of the plants enough room to thrive. Put Fertilizer A on one of the plants in the amount that the bag says to use. Label the plants according to whether or not plant has fertilizer. Observe the plants as they grow and make sure that they get water every day. Each plant gets the same amount of water and the same amount of sunlight. Watch them grow and record their height every morning for two weeks.
Analysis: Take the data that you collected during the experiment and put it into a graph. Compare the heights of the tomato plants as the two weeks passed.
Conclusion: If the plant with the fertilizer grew more than the other plant, your hypothesis was correct. If not, reflect on why it was not. Take into consideration all of the factors that played a role in the experiment such as weather, amount of sunlight, and the amount of soil for each plant. Reflect on whether or not your experiment was valid. Also, you can mention the was in which this would effect you and your community in the future.
INDEPENDENT-- the one that does not have anything different
DEPENDENT-- changes based on independent
BOTH-- vital parts to the outcome of the experiment and show change
Question: What fertilizer will make the tomato plant grow quicker?
Research: What are the top fertilizers? How much fertilizer should you use? What conditions do tomato plants thrive in?
Hypothesis: If I use fertilizer A, the tomato plant will grow faster than if I use no fertilizer.
Experiment: Buy Fertilizer A as well as a packet of Tomato type B. Find a place in the sun and plant the seeds in a sunny place. Give each of the plants enough room to thrive. Put Fertilizer A on one of the plants in the amount that the bag says to use. Label the plants according to whether or not plant has fertilizer. Observe the plants as they grow and make sure that they get water every day. Each plant gets the same amount of water and the same amount of sunlight. Watch them grow and record their height every morning for two weeks.
Analysis: Take the data that you collected during the experiment and put it into a graph. Compare the heights of the tomato plants as the two weeks passed.
Conclusion: If the plant with the fertilizer grew more than the other plant, your hypothesis was correct. If not, reflect on why it was not. Take into consideration all of the factors that played a role in the experiment such as weather, amount of sunlight, and the amount of soil for each plant. Reflect on whether or not your experiment was valid. Also, you can mention the was in which this would effect you and your community in the future.
INDEPENDENT-- the one that does not have anything different
DEPENDENT-- changes based on independent
BOTH-- vital parts to the outcome of the experiment and show change
Observations vs. Inferences
Bibliography
The Scientific Method. Digital image. Learner.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017. <https://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/handouts/anchor_chart_sci_method.html>.
Tomato Plants - F1 Sweet 'n' Neat Red. Digital image. Dobies. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017. <http://gardeners.s3.amazonaws.com/p/VETOM23465_3.jpg>.
The Scientific Method. Digital image. Learner.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017. <https://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/handouts/anchor_chart_sci_method.html>.
Tomato Plants - F1 Sweet 'n' Neat Red. Digital image. Dobies. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017. <http://gardeners.s3.amazonaws.com/p/VETOM23465_3.jpg>.