Do Now• How can we better understand scientific words?• Attempt to put the steps of the scientific method in

order from start to finish:

• Conclusion • Problem / ask a question• Observation / Data• Hypothesis • Research • Experiment

Once upon a time…

Scientific Method

“Peter Rabbit Hates Eating Old Dirty Carrots”

What is the Scientific Method? Is a process Process for experimentation that is used to explore and test

observations and answer questions Scientific Method is used to search for cause and effect

relationships in nature Experiments are designed so that changes to one item only

cause something else to happen in a predictable, measurable way!

Peter: Problem / Question

Ask a Question:To start the scientific method, you must ask a question:

How, What, When, Who, Which, Why or Where? In order for the scientific method to answer the question,

it must be measurable, preferably with a number.

•How can I get my tomato plants to grow more tomatoes?•Will fertilizer X make my tomato plants grow more tomatoes?

Rabbit: Research

Do Background Research:Rather than starting from scratch, use library and internet

sources to help find out the best way to construct a hypothesis and experiment.

This insures that you don’t repeat mistakes! Inquiry involves asking questions and locating,

interpreting, and processing information from a variety of sources.

•Did this person use only fertilizer X? Did they water their plants more? Did they have more shade on their plants? Why does fertilizer X work?

Hates: Hypothesis

Construct a Hypothesis:A hypothesis is an testable and measurable explanation of

a situation. Stated as a condition and a result. In other words, stated as:

“If ___(I do this)____, then ___(this)____ will happen.”

Remember, must be stated so that the you can measure your results

Tomatoes:

Hypothesis practice

Smithers thinks that a special juice will increase the productivity of workers (cut more paper). He asks himself, will this special juice really increase my workers productivity? He does research to see if anyone else has tried and wants to try it out. What would be a good hypothesis?

Hypothesis practice

Bart wonders if radio waves will make his mouse strong for a race coming up. Thinking about this question, he does his research. He wants to make a hypothesis. What would a good hypothesis be?

Hypothesis practice

Lisa is working on a science project. She wants to know if “Shampoo Superstar” will affect the speed of hair growth. After doing background research to see that it is possible and hasn’t been done before, what would a good hypothesis be?