The Scientific Method

The Steps to Success

What is the scientific method?
It is a process that is used to find answers to questions
about the world around us.
Is there only one “scientific method”?
No, there are several versions of the scientific method.
Some versions have more steps, while others may have only a
few.
However, they all begin with the identification of a problem or a
question to be answered based on observations of the world
around us.
1. Ask a Question (Observation)
 starts when you ask a question about something that you observe:
 How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?
2. Do Background Research
 Using library and Internet research
 to help you find the best way to do things and ensure that you don't repeat mistakes
from the past.
3. Construct a Hypothesis
 hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work.
 Prediction: "If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen."
4. Test Your Hypothesis by doing an Experiment

 Experiment tests
 a fair test
 repeat your experiments several times
 important parts - the control and the variable
 The control is the part of the experiment that is “normal” and not being tested
 The variable is the part of the experiment that is being manipulated and tested.
Variables come in two types: dependent and independent. The independent variable is
the part of the experiment the scientist is manipulating, or the part he or she is
changing.
 The dependent variable is the response to the independent variable—in other words,
the effect or what happened to the independent variable.
5. Data collection and 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 predictions were not accurate and their hypothesis was
not supported, and in such cases they will communicate the results of their experiment
and then go back and construct a new hypothesis and prediction based on the
information they learned during their experiment.
 This starts much of the 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.
6. Communicate Your Results
 results to others in a final report and/or a display board
 final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster or during a
talk at a scientific meeting.
 In a science fair, judges are interested in your findings regardless of whether or not
they support your original hypothesis.
What is data?
It is information gathered
during an experiment.
It is organized into a data
table and displayed visually
as a graph.
BAR GRAPHS: can be used to show how something
changes over time or to compare items.
have an x-axis (horizontal) and a y-axis (vertical)
the x-axis has time period or what is being measured
the y-axis has numbers for the amount of stuff being
measured.
good when you're plotting data that spans many years (or
days, weeks...), has really big changes from year to
year (or day to day...), or when you are comparing
things.
LINE GRAPHS: can be used to show how
something changes over time
x-axis has numbers for the time period
y-axis has numbers for what is being
measured.
can be used when you're plotting data that has
peaks (ups) and valleys (downs), or that was
collected in a short time period.
Used for two sets of numerical data (ex: time
and temp)
 Identifying Variables
Independent Variables
Dependent Variables
Controlled Variables (Constants)
Independent Variable –
something that is
changed by the scientist
What is tested
What is manipulated
(changed)
Dependent Variable – something that might be affected by the
change in the independent variable
What is observed
What is measured
The data collected during the investigation
“the numbers”
Example: how tall the plant grew, how far the paper airplane flew
Controlled Variable – a variable that is not changed
Also called CONSTANTS
Allow for a “fair test”
Everything in the experiment except for the IV should be
kept constant
 Procedure
Give a detailed explanation of how you will conduct the
experiment to test your hypothesis
Be clear about the variables (elements you change)
versus your constants (elements that do not change)
A control is the group that you use as a comparison to
see if change has occurred.
Example: In a medicine study, the group of people
who don’t get the medicine are the control group
 Steps of the Scientific Method
1. Choose a problem: State the problem as a question.
2. Research your problem: Read, get advice, and make
observations.
3. Develop a hypothesis: Make a prediction about what will
happen.
4. Design an experiment: Plan how you will test your
hypothesis.
5. Test your hypothesis: Conduct the experiment and record
the data.
6. Organize your data: Create a chart or graph of your data.
7. Draw conclusions: Analyze your data and summarize your
findings.
 EXERCISES
Use the Scientific Method

1. A scientist is conducting an experiment on how mice react to different temperatures. The scientist first
makes an educated guess as to what he thinks will happen when the mice are subjected to various
levels of heat and cold. Next, the temperature in the room (in Celsius) is changed, and the heart
rate(beats per minute, or bpm) of the mice is recorded. The following table shows the data collected
during the experiment.
Which conclusion does the data most directly support?
A. The mice move around faster as the temperature in
the room is increased.
B. The mice are unable to survive in temperatures below
10°C.
C. The heart rate of the mice increases exponentially with temperature increases.
D. The heart rate of the mice increases as the temperature in a room increases.
2. Which of the following changes is the best way to improve the design of the experiment by reducing
possible sources of experimental error?
Strawberries and Yeast Experiment
An experiment was conducted in which three freshly picked strawberries of the same size were each
placed into three separate plastic bags. A teaspoon of active yeast was added to bag #1. A tablespoon of
a different type of active yeast was added to bag #2. No yeast was added to bag #3. All three bags were
placed in the same dark location. After five days, the following observations were made:
1.Bag #1 and bag #2 were both slightly inflated.
2.The strawberry in bag #2 was the most broken down.
3.The strawberry in bag #3 was still mainly intact.
A. Place all strawberries into the same plastic bag.
B. Place the bags in different locations, rather than in the same location.
C. Set up the experiment in triplicate.
D. Record observations three days after adding the strawberries and yeast to the bags.
3. A pharmaceutical company was testing out a new drug that was intended to lower blood
pressure in diabetic patients. Two groups of volunteers were assembled. Group 1 consisted of
200 men, whereas Group 2 consisted of 200 women. All of the trial’s participants were diabetics
between the ages of 20 and 50 with similar lifestyles, diet, and general health. Group 2 was
given the trial drug, while Group1 was given a sugar pill as a placebo (fake pill).
i. Which of the following is true about the experimental drug trial?
A. Both groups were control groups.
B. Both groups were experimental groups.
C. Group 2 was the experimental group, and Group 1 was the control group.
D. Group 1 was the experimental group, and Group 2 was the control group.
II. If the results of the experiment showed no change in the blood pressure for the members of
either group, what conclusion can be made?
A. The drug does not lower blood pressure in either men or women.
B. The drug does not lower blood pressure in men.
C. The drug does not lower blood pressure in women.
D. The drug may lower blood pressure in men.

III. Which of the following could lead to an error in this experiment?

A. One of the groups was not given any real medication.
B. All of the participants had diabetes.
C. There were too many participants in each group.
D. The members of the experimental group and the control group were not similar enough.

IV. How could the design of the experiment be improved to eliminate this potential source of
error?
A. Give the members of both groups the medication.
B. Choose only participants who do not have diabetes.
C. Reduce the number of participants in each group to 20 each.
D. Swap 100 of the males from Group 1 with 100 of the females from Group 2.