the scientific method involves a series of steps that are...
TRANSCRIPT
The Scientific Method involves a series of steps that
are used to investigate a natural occurrence
Scientists use experiments to test a hypothesis or answer a question
Parts of an Experiment
QUESTION/PROBLEM
What question is being answered, problem solved, or hypothesis tested.
For example, “How many drops of water fit on a penny?”
Hypothesis An educated guess about the results. • If… Then… (statement) • If describes the independent variable. • Then describes the dependent variable. What are some hypotheses you can come up
with about the penny? Write yours down!
Parts of an Experiment
Materials:
Items used during the experiment.
What would we need for the penny experiment? Write yours down…
Parts of an Experiment
Procedures: Steps followed during experiment.
– Write in a numbered list – Should be detailed enough that anyone can follow
exactly what you did. – How many times you are going to do the
experiment? It should be written here!
Parts of an Experiment
• with your tablemate to practice writing
out a procedure for testing the penny experiment.
• Be specific!
Observations/Data Collection: All the information gathered while
performing the experiment. Always show units when measuring is required.
• Observations should be made about the experiment. (Describe what you observing when it happens)
Now, do the experiment! Record your data in a table you make in your notes.
Parts of an Experiment
Analysis/Results: GRAPHS can SHOW your results in an easier to read way.
Now you take your data and present it in a graph. You always present your AVERAGE results if you could do repeat trials – or else present all of the data you have.
Graphs need the same title as your Data Table. They type of graph you use depends on what you measured –
for example, a line graph shows change over time, a bar graph shows final results
Parts of an Experiment
Results/Conclusions: Analyze your data to determine the final
outcome of the experiment Restate your original problem (The purpose of this lab
is to determine) What do you NOW believe as a result of the
experiment or observations? Restate your hypothesis (or at least relate your
findings to it) Support your claim with at least 2 pieces of data Use good explanatory language
Parts of an Experiment
Practice Conclusion
• What should our conclusion be about how many drops of water a penny can hold? Write one for your experiment, using the above guidelines:
There are two groups in a controlled experiment:
1) Control Group: the part of the experiment that is left alone or “natural”. Used to compare back to.
There are two groups in a controlled experiment:
2) Experimental Group: the part of the experiment in which a factor or variable is changed.
• Variables are parts of an experiment
Controlled variables (constants): factors in an experiment that are NOT changed.
Manipulated (independent) variable: factors in an experiment that are changed.
•Good experiments have only ONE manipulated variable.
Responding (dependent) variable: the factor that you are measuring.
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The Scientific Method Video