How Scientists Test Ideas

How Scientists Test Ideas

How Do Scientists Test Hypotheses? 1.

Asking a Question: Scientists start by asking a question. For example, “Where do living things
come from?” 2. Making a Hypothesis: A scientist makes an educated guess (hypothesis). Long ago,
people thought life came from non-living things. But Redi, in 1668, thought maggots came from
fly eggs, not from meat.

3. Setting Up an Experiment: Scientists do experiments. In experiments, only one thing should

change at a time. 4.

Recording Results: After the experiment, they write down the results and see if the hypothesis is
correct. 5. Drawing a Conclusion: Scientists use the results to decide if the hypothesis is correct or
not.

Redi’s Experiment: • What Redi Saw: Flies land on meat, and then maggots appear. • Redi’s
Guess: He thought flies laid eggs on the meat, and these eggs became maggots.

• The Experiment: Redi used jars. Some jars were open to flies, and some jars were covered with
gauze. In the jars with gauze, no maggots appeared, showing flies caused the maggots.
Spallanzani’s Experiment: Spallanzani tried the same idea with gravy. He boiled the gravy to kill
any living things in it. In open flasks, living things grew. In sealed flasks, nothing grew. This
showed that life does not just appear on its own.

Pasteur’s Experiment: Pasteur tried another test. He boiled broth in a special flask with a long
neck. The broth stayed clean for a long time. Only when the neck was broken did living things
appear. This showed that life comes from other life, not from non-living things. How a Theory
Develops:

• After many experiments, scientists might make a theory. A theory is a strong idea that explains
many things. For example, scientists have theories about germs, how animals change over time,
and how cells work. Important Words: • Manipulated Variable: The thing the scientist changes in
an experiment (like the gauze covering in Redi’s experiment).

• Responding Variable: What happens or changes because of the experiment (like maggots
appearing). • Theory: A strong idea that explains many things. Quiz Summary:

• Spontaneous Generation: The old, wrong idea that life can come from non-living things. • Redi’s
Experiment: The manipulated variable was the gauze covering on some jars to keep flies away. A
theory is an idea that many scientists agree on because it has been tested a lot and is supported
by many experiments.

Reading Summary
● Scientists ask questions, make guesses, and do experiments to learn about the world.
● Redi, Spallanzani, and Pasteur did experiments to show that living things come from other
living things, not from non-living things.
● Scientists use their experiments to make theories, which are strong ideas that explain many
things.

Vocabulary

Term Definition Example Sentence

hypothesis An educated guess about what will My hypothesis is that plants will grow
(noun) happen in an experiment. taller if they get more water.

manipulated To change something in an experiment The scientist manipulated the amount of

(verb) to see what happens. light the plants got.

responding The thing that changes because of the The responding variable in the
(adjective) change in the experiment. experiment was the height of the plants.
theory (noun) A strong idea that explains many things, The theory of gravity explains why
based on lots of experiments. things fall to the ground.

spontaneous Happening without a cause or reason. The fire started spontaneously.

(adjective)

Multiple Choice Questions

Question #1 Question #2 Question #3

What did Redi think caused What happened to the gravy in What is a theory in science?
maggots to appear on meat? Spallanzani's experiment when
the flask was sealed?

A. Redi thought that maggots A. Living things grew in the A. A theory is a guess about
came from the meat itself. sealed flask. something.

B. Redi thought that flies laid B. The gravy stayed clean and B. A theory is a strong idea that
eggs on the meat, and these nothing grew in the sealed explains many things.
eggs became maggots. flask.
C. A theory is a rule that
C. Redi thought that maggots C. The gravy turned into a scientists have to follow.
came from the air. different color.
D. A theory is a fact that is
D. Redi thought that maggots D. The gravy became smelly. always true.
came from the sun.

Short Answer Questions

Question #1 What did Redi do to test his guess about maggots?

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Question #2 What did Pasteur's experiment show about where life comes from?
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Question #3 What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

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This Diffit resource was created by Nikita Farahangiz