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03 Scientific Methods

The document describes the six steps of the scientific method as: 1) Ask a question, 2) Conduct background research, 3) Propose a hypothesis, 4) Design and perform an experiment to test the hypothesis, 5) Record observations and analyze the data, and 6) Conclude whether to accept or reject the hypothesis. It also discusses the key elements of an experiment, including independent and dependent variables, and notes that some descriptions of the scientific method include an additional step of making observations.

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Zhavia Mollineaux
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90 views

03 Scientific Methods

The document describes the six steps of the scientific method as: 1) Ask a question, 2) Conduct background research, 3) Propose a hypothesis, 4) Design and perform an experiment to test the hypothesis, 5) Record observations and analyze the data, and 6) Conclude whether to accept or reject the hypothesis. It also discusses the key elements of an experiment, including independent and dependent variables, and notes that some descriptions of the scientific method include an additional step of making observations.

Uploaded by

Zhavia Mollineaux
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Teacher: Miss Ramdehal

Class: 1.4&1.6

Subject: Integrated Science

Topic: Scientific methods

Objectives

At the end of this session students should be able to:

o Describe the 6 scientific methods

By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.


Updated February 18, 2020
Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Six Steps of the Scientific Method." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020,
thoughtco.com/steps-of-the-scientific-method-p2-606045.

The scientific method is a systematic way of learning about the world around us and answering
questions. The key difference between the scientific method and other ways of acquiring knowledge
are forming a hypothesis and then testing it with an experiment.

The Six Steps

The number of steps can vary from one description to another (which mainly happens
when data and analysis are separated into separate steps), however, this is a fairly standard list of
the six scientific method steps that you are expected to know for any science class:
1. Purpose/Question Ask a question.

2. Research
Conduct background research. Write down your sources so you can cite your references. In
the modern era, a lot of your research may be conducted online. Scroll to the bottom of
articles to check the references. Even if you can't access the full text of a published article,
you can usually view the abstract to see the summary of other experiments. Interview
experts on a topic. The more you know about a subject, the easier it will be to conduct your
investigation.

3. Hypothesis
Propose a hypothesis. This is a sort of educated guess about what you expect. It is a
statement used to predict the outcome of an experiment. Usually, a hypothesis is written in
terms of cause and effect. Alternatively, it may describe the relationship between two
phenomena. One type of hypothesis is the null hypothesis or the no-difference hypothesis.
This is an easy type of hypothesis to test because it assumes changing a variable will have no
effect on the outcome. In reality, you probably expect a change but rejecting a hypothesis
may be more useful than accepting one.

4. Experiment
Design and perform an experiment to test your hypothesis. An experiment has
an independent and dependent variable. You change or control the independent variable
and record the effect it has on the dependent variable. It's important to change only one
variable for an experiment rather than try to combine the effects of variables in an
experiment. For example, if you want to test the effects of light intensity and fertilizer
concentration on the growth rate of a plant, you're really looking at two separate
experiments.

5. Data/Analysis Record observations and analyze the meaning of the data. Often, you'll
prepare a table or graph of the data. Don't throw out data points you think are bad or that
don't support your predictions. Some of the most incredible discoveries in science were
made because the data looked wrong! Once you have the data, you may need to perform a
mathematical analysis to support or refute your hypothesis.

6. Conclusion
Conclude whether to accept or reject your hypothesis. There is no right or wrong outcome
to an experiment, so either result is fine. Accepting a hypothesis does not necessarily mean
it's correct! Sometimes repeating an experiment may give a different result. In other cases, a
hypothesis may predict an outcome, yet you might draw an incorrect conclusion.
Communicate your results. The results may be compiled into a lab report or formally
submitted as a paper. Whether you accept or reject the hypothesis, you likely learned
something about the subject and may wish to revise the original hypothesis or form a new
one for a future experiment.
When Are There Seven Steps?

Sometimes the scientific method is taught with seven steps instead of six. In this model, the first
step of the scientific method is to make observations. Really, even if you don't make observations
formally, you think about prior experiences with a subject in order to ask a question or solve a
problem.

Formal observations are a type of brainstorming that can help you find an idea and form a
hypothesis. Observe your subject and record everything about it. Include colors, timing, sounds,
temperatures, changes, behavior, and anything that strikes you as interesting or significant.

Variables

When you design an experiment, you are controlling and measuring variables. There are three types
of variables:

 Controlled Variables: You can have as many controlled variables as you like. These are parts of
the experiment that you try to keep constant throughout an experiment so that they won't
interfere with your test. Writing down controlled variables is a good idea because it helps
make your experiment reproducible, which is important in science! If you have trouble
duplicating results from one experiment to another, there may be a controlled variable that
you missed.

 Independent Variable: This is the variable you control.

 Dependent Variable: This is the variable you measure. It is called the dependent


variable because it depends on the independent variable.

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