Science Notes

Notes by Jun Guan

I Scientific Method
Problem/Question
❖ Asking questions can be the beginning of a scientific method. When you
ask a question, you’ll have to observe:
➢ How, What, When, Where, Who, Which, and/or Why?
■ Example:
● “How does mass affect how fast a ball falls to the
ground?

Background Research
❖ Before making predictions, you must do research to gather some
background information the question you would like to put to the test
❖ What other experiments about this have been done and what different
experiments can we do?

Hypothesis
❖ A logical prediction using what you already know to the subject of your
question to the test.
➢ This does not mean guessing.
❖ A good hypothesis explains BRIEFLY how you will solve the problem.
➢ Example:
■ “If we drop two balls of different masses at the same time
from the same point, i think (prediction here) will happen”

Experimental Procedure
❖ Think of a new way to solve your problem.
❖ A good experiment should be specific and easy to repeat by others.
❖ You should try the experiment multiple times in order to see if the
conclusion was persistence.
➢ Example:
 ■ STEP ONE: Hold two balls of different masses above your
head in each hand.
■ STEP TWO: Drop both balls at the exact same time from the
exact same distance from the ground.
■ STEP THREE: Record your observations and then repeat.

Observe, Analyze Data and Draw Conclusions

❖ Review your results and decide if your hypothesis is correct or
incorrect.
❖ Brainstorm ways to make your results easy to repeat and clear.
➢ Example:
■ Graphs, Charts, Pictures.

Present Results
❖ Communicate your results so that they are clear and can be
understood by others
❖ Be prepared to speak and share your experience and what you did to
reach your conclusion.
➢ Optional: Explain what you would do in the future to further
understand the problem through more experiments.

Trick: Please Remember How Each One Count

❖ P: Problem
❖ R: Research
❖ H: Hypothesis
❖ E: Experimental Procedure
❖ O: Observe and Analyze
❖ C: Conclusion
I Describing Variables
Variables

❖ Every experiment must have a variable

❖ A variable means any factor, trait, or condition that is existing in
different amounts or types.
➢ Below is the three types of variables that can exist in your
experiment
■ Independent variable
■ Dependent variable
■ Constant variable

Independent Variable
❖ An independent variable is the only thing you can change in an
experiment.
❖ An independent variable’s point to figure out how to manipulate this
aspect of the experiment affects everything else.
❖ Everything in the experiment is the same, (example) the same time, the
same amount of food, and the same age. The only variable is the
size/breed.

Dependent Variable
❖ A dependent variable is the thing in the experiment you are observing
and monitoring the changes of.
❖ The changes you make to the independent variable will affect the
dependent variable.
❖ In the example experiment about the independent variable, the scientist
observes how the amount of food eaten by both dogs changes based
on the size/breed of the dog.

Constant Variable
❖ A constant is the things in the experiment that stay the same.
 ❖ In order to get an accurate result from your experiment, you must
make sure nothing unrelated/random things could affect the results.
❖ An example for our dog food example, the constants are: the food is
the same for both dogs, they are the same age, they are just as hungry,
etc.

Control Group
❖ A control group is the group of experimental subjects that is left alone,
or most normal. (You can call that the base of your experiment)
❖ This is optional, but if you want to get a more accurate result.
❖ An example is the average size dog.

Experimental Group
❖ An experimental group is the party you are experimenting on.
❖ This group is the party getting affected by the independent variable.

Getting Accurate Results

❖ Only have one independent variable unless otherwise.
❖ Repeat the experiment multiple times to make sure the result is steady.
❖ Have many test subjects.
❖ Have a control group for the best results, optional though.

I Observations, Inferences, and Predictions

Do Now Questions
I. Describe what you see in the picture.
 A. A kid wearing blue pants and a black jacket lay on sand, while
swings in the back of the picture seem to be still swinging and
some are thrown all the way up.
II. What do you think happened?
A. The kid flipped all the swings except for one to make himself the
only one playing on the swings. Karma got him and he fell off the
swing.
III. Predict what’ll happen next.
A. The kid is going to go crying to his mommy and wondering why
he fell odd without realizing it was KARMA.

01. Picture’s only color is black and white

a. It’s part of an old style newspaper.
02.There is a truck.
03.There is a smashed car.
04.There is a dog.
a. The dog is a golden retriever.
05.There are trees in the background.
a. Those are oak trees.

1) There's water.
a) There was probably a fire.
2) There's trees without leaves in the background.
a) It was a forest fire perhaps.

A. I predict that the people will start yelling at each other.

B. I predict that the police will come.
C. I predict that the police will give a ticket to one of them.
1. There’s a broken and falling tree branch.
2. I think the person is going to get hit on the head.
3. I predict that the person will go to the hospital.

1. Observation
2. Inference
 3. Observation
4. Inference
5. Observation
6. Inference
7. Observation
8. Inference
9. Observation
10. Observation
11. Inference
12. Prediction

Observation
❖ An observation is the assessment of something using only your senses.
❖ Observations are always facts.
➢ Never “I think, it might, maybe, perhaps, I suppose….”
❖ Information collected is called Evidence.
➢ EXAMPLE:
■ This doc’s background is white and the text is black.

Predictions
❖ A logical statement about the afterevents of something.

Quantitative Information
❖ Quantitative information is data that deals with numbers.
➢ Think: “QUANTITY”
❖ Quantitative information is like:
➢ Amount
➢ Height
➢ Weight
➢ Price
➢ Time
➢ Temperature
 ❖ In the picture there’s:
➢ 8 trees
➢ 1 phone booth
➢ 2 cans on the ground

Qualitative Information
❖ Qualitative Information deals with the qualities of something that
doesn’t deal with numbers.
➢ Examples:
■ Shape
■ Color
■ Adjectives without numbers

I Test Prep and Topics

Scientific Method
❖ P.R.H.E.O.C.
 ➢ Please Remember How Each One Counts:
■ Problem, Research, Hypothesis, Experimental Procedure
Observations and Analyzing, Conclusion.
❖ Observation, Inference Prediction.
➢ Qualitative and Quantitative observation.
■ Qualitative: temperature, color, shape, feel.
● Red hot smooth sphere.
■ Quantitative: numbers.
● 85 things.
➢ Inference is a guess.
➢ Prediction is in the future.
❖ Experimental Design.
➢ Independent Variable.
■ Liquid given to the plant.
➢ Dependent Variable.
■ The growth/height of each plant.
➢ Constant.
■ Sample amount of liquid, same type of plant, etc.