Scientific Method Review Guide Name: _________________________________

Must be completed for curve on the Quiz! Check your grade! Do you have any zeros or missing assignments?

1. What is science?
a process that uses observation to gain knowledge about the world around us
2. Define hypothesis, then explain what a hypothesis can and cannot be.
Educated guess. (if then because statement) that is not an opinion, not biased, doesn’t exclude
groups

3. Compare and contrast variable and constant.

A variable is a factor that changes in an experiment, specifically, the independent variable is
purposely change, which causes the dependent variable to change (your
experiment/measurments), while a constant does not change and should be kept the same throughout trials.
4. Compare and contrast independent and dependent variable.
the independent variable is the ONE THING you purposely change in an experiment, while the dependent variable
is what you observe/measure because of what you changes.
5. Why do experiments usually require a control?
So experimenters have an unchanged group to compare their results to
6. What does an observation involve?
Using the 5 senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, sound).

7. What are the two types of observations, and give an example of each?
Qualitative – (the quality of something) a description, color, smell Ex – the shirt was yellow
Quantitative – a numerical value Ex – there are 17 shirts

8. What is an inference?
An educated suggestion based off of something you observed.
Ex – Observation: a student signs out of class Inference – they are going to the restroom or get water

9. What do you think the difference between a hypothesis and a theory is?
A hypothesis is an educated guess that is followed by an experiment.
A theory is a WELL TESTED hypothesis by a ton of scientists that is believed to be true, but can be disproved with
the advancement of technology.
10. How do you stop an experiment from being biased (unfairly judged)?
Use quantitative (numerical) data, include a variety of test subjects, have a control group, do not alter results to
what you want them to be

Put the scientific method in number order:

____6_____Draw conclusion
____3_____Form a hypothesis
____7_____Communicate results and retest
____4_____Test your hypothesis
____1_____Recognize the problem
____5_____Analyze the data
____2_____ research information (previously written gather information)
 Make an observations about the picture.
2 cars are being tipped over, water is rushing onto the road,
the weather is clear/not cloudy, the water is dark blue/grey

Make an inferences about the picture (an explanation of what

you think happened based off your knowledge).
a dam broke, the people in the cars may be injured

Label Microscope

Identify the dependent and independent variable in each of

the investigations below.
Nosepiece
1. Is plant growth affected by the color of
light in which it grows?
arm
a. Independent variable: color of light
b. Dependent variable: plant growth Objective
2. Which laundry detergent removes
stains more effectively?
a. Independent variable: type of detergent
Stage clips
b. Dependent variable: removal of stains Diaphragm
3. Does the type of oil affect the
size of popcorn? Coarse adj. Knob
Light source
a. Independent variable: type of oil
Fine adj. Knob
b. Dependent variable: size of popcorn
Experiment #1 Base
Question: Does penicillin prevent infection?
Hypothesis: If the medicine prevents infection, than the medicine will prevent the growth of bacteria that cause
infection.
Experiment: Leo placed two circles of paper in a Petri dish (something used for growing bacteria). One circle of
paper was soaked in penicillin. The other had nothing on it. He poured a liquid filled with bacteria into the Petri
dish. Both circles of paper were placed in the Petri dish about 3cm apart.
At the end of the experiment, a circle with a radius of 2cm formed around the circle of paper soaked in
penicillin. There were no bacteria growing in the 2cm circle. No change had occurred around the other circle of
paper. The bacteria were growing well.

A. What was the independent variable? Penicillin

B. What was the dependent variable? Bacteria growth
C. What was the control? No Penicillin
D. Was there a constant variable? Petri dish, type of bacteria, pieces of paper placed 3 cm apart
Experiment #2
Smithers thinks that a special juice will increase the productivity of workers. He creates two groups of 50 workers each
and assigns each group the same task (in this case, they're supposed to staple a set of papers). Group A is given the
special juice to drink while they work. Group B is not given the special juice. After an hour, Smithers counts how many
stacks of papers each group has made. Group A made 1,587 stacks, Group B made 2,113 stacks

A. Control Group? Group with no juice

B. Independent (Manipulated) Variable? Group given juice

C. Dependent (Responding) Variable? Productivity of workers

D. What should Smithers' conclusion be? Group given juice was less productive

Experiment 3
The population of tiger sharks off the coast of Florida was recorded over several months. Graph the tiger shark
populations below.

The number of nurse sharks was also recorded for this time period; though the person recorded the number was
not as reliable as the person recording tiger shark numbers. The following data was taken on nurse sharks. Use a
different color to graph the nurse shark population on the graph above.

March - 60 April - 52 July - 38

August - 20 November- 14 December - 11

a. At what month would you expect the number of nurse sharks to equal the number of tiger sharks?

June/July
 b. What does the graph tell you about the trends both shark populations?
Tiger Shark increases while, nursing shark decreases

20 mm

70mm

140 mm

10 mm

9 hours

Experiment 5:
Create a data table and graph for the following experiment.

The following teams play each other in tennis every year Westmoore, Edmond, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. This year
Sylvester’s team, Westmoore, came in 1st place and won a total of 10 matches. Tulsa won more matches than Edmond,
but won fewer games than Oklahoma City and came in third. Based on the information given create a chart and an
appropriate graph to show how many games each team won.

Tennis Team Matches Won

Westmore 10
Edmond 7
Tulsa 8
Oklahoma City 9