The Process of The Scientific Method
- 2. The Scientific Method involves a series of steps that are used to investigate a natural occurrence. i p! g T As you study science you'll probably come arnin across many different ways of describing the Le steps of the Scientific Method. Simple versions describe just a few steps while other versions are very detailed and can list as many more steps. However, they all use the same basic process.
- 3. Let's take a closer look at these steps and the vocabulary you will need to understand before you start a science project.
- 4. Question Research Steps of Hypothesis the Basic Experiment Process Analyze Conclusion Communicate
- 5. Steps of the Scientific Method 1. Question: Identify a problem. Question Ask a question about the problem that can be solved through experimentation.
- 6. Steps of the Scientific Method 1. Question EXAMPLE You've noticed a problem – your favorite Spider plants are looking droopy. The leaves are wilted and turning yellow. You're curious about why this has happened. You want to solve this mystery so you can help your plants be healthy. You might ask a question like: “What is causing my plants to wilt?”
- 7. Steps of the Scientific Method 2. Research: Spend some time Research making observations. Study your subject and take notes. Research your topic using books, searching online, and by talking with people. Collect information to help you figure out the most likely solution.
- 8. Steps of the Scientific Method 2. Research EXAMPLE You study your plants and make several observations about them. You notice they are all equally wilted. You see that the oldest leaves have yellowed the most. You check the soil and find that it's very dry. You browse through a plant care book. You also search the internet, looking for articles about “wilted yellow leaves”. You talk to owner of a greenhouse about the condition of your plants. Now you've collected a good amount of information about the possible causes of wilted leaves.
- 9. Steps of the Scientific Method 3. Hypothesis: Review your Hypothesis research and use your critical thinking skills to predict a possible answer to your question. Write it as an “If / then” statement. A hypothesis must be testable.
- 10. Steps of the Scientific Method 3. Hypothesis EXAMPLE You've learned from your research that water is very important to plant health and you remember from your observations that the soil around your plant was very dry. You also realize that you've not been watering the plant regularly. You form a hypothesis about what might be causing the plant to wilt and write it as a testable prediction – “If my plant receives the appropriate amount of water then it will stop wilting.” This is a testable hypothesis – you can give the plants water and watch what happens.
- 11. Steps of the Scientific Method 4. Experiment: Develop an Experiment experiment to test your hypothesis. Make a list of materials and the actions you'll perform – these details are called the procedure, it's the plan you'll follow. To create a good experiment you must design it so that the results are measurable.
- 12. Steps of the Scientific Method 4. Experiment EXAMPLE To test your hypothesis you decide to give your three plants a different amount of water and count how many leaves are wilted each day for two weeks. You give Plant A two cups of water a day, Plant B one cup of water a day, and Plant C no water at all. The amount of water they receive will be the only difference between the plants. You keep all the other conditions the same – sunlight, temperature, fertilizer, etc. You water and observe the plants each day, write detailed notes and take pictures for your records. It's important to collect accurate data during your experiment.
- 13. Steps of the Scientific Method 5. Analyze: Look back through all Analyze of the data you've collected during the experiment. If you need to you can modify the procedure and retest. You may want to confirm the results by repeating the experiment.
- 14. Steps of the Scientific Method 5. Analyze EXAMPLE You review all the data you've collected – a record of each time you watered the plants, a daily journal describing how they looked, a count of how many leaves on each plant are wilted each day, and photographs of the plants. You examine all of this information to see if the water has made a difference in the health of the plant. At this point you could repeat the experiment with another set of plants and see if you get the same results, this is a way to see if the experiment is valid.
- 15. Steps of the Scientific Method 6. Conclusion: Write a Conclusion statement about whether the results of your experiment reject or support your hypothesis. Suggest ways to study the problem further or improve the experiment.
- 16. Steps of the Scientific Method 6. Conclusion EXAMPLE You've determined that Plant B, which received one cup of water per day, has improved the most. It's leaves are no longer wilted and the yellowing has stopped. Plant A, which received two cups, improved some. Although its leaves are no longer wilted they are still turning yellow. Plant C, which received no water, continued to wilt, turned brown, and the leaves fell off. You determine that the results support your hypothesis – the plants that received water have no wilting. You write all of these conclusions down. You also include ideas about further experiments that could be done, such as testing to see if too much water could be the cause of yellow leaves on Plant A.
- 17. Steps of the Scientific Method 7. Communicate: Prepare a Communicate presentation to share with other people. You can use documents, photos, videos, charts, and model displays. Expect to answer questions from the audience.
- 18. Steps of the Scientific Method 7. Communicate EXAMPLE You decide to share your experiences with your science class so you prepare a report to pass out. It includes the details of your experiment – the list of materials, the procedures, and the conditions you kept the same. This information will allow other people to repeat your experiment if they want. You also create a display board to highlight some of your observations. It has pictures of the plants on day 1, 7, and 14 and a chart showing the number of wilted leaves you counted each day. This is a way of communicating what you've learned through the scientific process.
- 19. Think you can name all seven steps? Collect and Analyze Results Formulate a Hypothesis Communicate the Observation/Research Problem/Question Conclusion Experiment