Using the Scientific Method
- 1. Using the Scientific Method Nicole Dagro MST I Fall 2007 Assignment 11/29
- 2. Have you ever been sitting in class and the teacher instructs you to use the scientific method to help you answer a problem and your mind goes blank? Worry no more. I will show you how to apply the scientific method to a math probability problem!
- 3. The first step in the scientific method is to pick a topic Our Topic: Probability in Game Spinners We must also decide what question we want answered in relation to this topic Our Question: How many times will the spinner land on each color?
- 4. Second step: formulate hypothesis Hypothesis is a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations Our Hypothesis: The spinner will land on cyan 5x, blue 5x, green 5x, and magenta 5x. (A 1:4 probability).
- 5. Third step: create an experiment to test hypothesis. In our experiment… We will need a spinner and chart We will spin it 20x and record results http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/AdjustableSpinner/ Use this link if you do not have a spinner at home. Color Number of times landed
- 6. Fourth step: analyze the results (I have provided hypothetical results) Take results from chart and covert to graph (covert hypothesis to graph also to compare) We will use a pie graph Color Number of times landed Cyan Blue Green Magenta 6 7 7 0
- 7. Final step: conclusion; state your conclusion of the experiment Our Conclusion: Based on the pie chart, the results in some ways matched with our hypothesis and in other ways did not. Our results are that the spinner landed on cyan 6x, blue 7x, green 7x, and magenta 0x.
- 8. That is how you conduct an experiment using the scientific method and analyzing the results using a graph. I hope this has helped!