Doing Scientific

Investigations
PREPARED BY: MARK JESSON L. SOPOSO
What is science?
Is a systematic enterprise that
builds and organizes knowledge
in the form of testable
explanations and predictions
about the universe.
Branches of science
 Physical Science
Physics- A natural Science that involves the study of matter,
energy, force, object, etc. related to universe and its function
Chemistry- The study and analysis of various elements,
composition, structure, chemical process, ect.
Astronomy- The study of object in and beyond the
atmosphere of the Earth
 Life Science
Biology- Natural science and in-depth study of living
organisms from evolution to destruction.
-Botany
-Zoology
-Human Biology
-Genetic Science
-Medicine
 Earth Science
Ecology- The study of environment, relation of living
organism in the environment and ecosystem
Oceanology- Called Marine Science, it broadly covers all
topics related to the Ocean.
Meteorology- The study about climate, rainfall, wind,
speed, density, etc. related to the atmosphere.
Geology- The study about various aspects of earth, an
interesting branch that deals with the past.
Scientific method
The scientific method is a process
for experimentation that is used to
explore observations and answer
questions. Scientists use the
scientific method to search for cause
and effect relationships in nature.
Just as it does for a professional
scientist, the scientific method will
help you to focus your science fair
project question, construct a
hypothesis, design, execute, and
evaluate your experiment.
Ask a Question:
 The scientific method starts
when you ask a question about
something that you observe:
How, What, When, Who, Which,
Why, or Where?
Example:
Suppose you decided to plant a
vegetable garden. As you plant,
you water some seeds more than
others. You weed part of the
garden and mix fertilizer into some
of the soil.
 Observations
After few weeks, you observe that some plants
are growing better than others. An observation is
using one or more of your senses to gather
information and take note of what occurs.
Observations often are the beginning of the
process of inquiry and can lead to questions such
as “Why are some plants growing better than
others?”
 Inferring
As you are making observations and asking
questions, you recall that plants need water
and light to grow. You infer that perhaps some
vegetables are receiving more water or
sunlight that others and, therefore, are
growing better. An Inference is a logical
explanation of an observation that is drawn
from prior knowledge or experience.
Do Background Research:
Rather than starting from scratch in
putting together a plan for answering
your question, you want to be a savvy
scientist using library and Internet
research to help you find the best way
to do things and insure that you don't
repeat mistakes from the past.
Construct a Hypothesis:
A hypothesis is an educated guess about
how things work:
"If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____
will happen." You must state your
hypothesis in a way that you can easily
measure, and of course, your hypothesis
should be constructed in a way to help you
answer your original question.
 Predictio
Is n
a statement of what will happen next in a
sequence of events.

For instance, based on your hypotheses, you might

predict that if some plants receive more water,
sunlight, or fertilizer, then they will grow larger.
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing
an Experiment:
 Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis
is supported or not. It is important for your
experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair
test by making sure that you change only one
factor at a time while keeping all other
conditions the same. You should also repeat
your experiments several times to make sure
that the first results weren't just an accident.
Analyze Your Data and Draw a
Conclusion:
 Once your experiment is complete, you collect your
measurements and analyze them to see if they
support your hypothesis or not. Scientists often find
that their hypothesis was not supported, and in such
cases they will construct a new hypothesis based on
the information they learned during their experiment.
This starts the entire process of the scientific method
over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was
supported, they may want to test it again in a new
way.
Conclusion
A judgement or decision reached by
reasoning
Communicate your results
Professional scientists do almost exactly
the same thing by publishing their final
report in a scientific journal or by
presenting their results on a poster at a
scientific meeting. In a science fair, judges
are interested in your findings regardless of
whether or not they support your original
hypothesis.