HOW IS SCIENCE DONE?Learning goal: I will be able to make a claim and support it with evidence

  

What is Science?• Science is an organized way of using observable

evidence to understand the natural world

• Biology is the science of studying living things.

Science and Engineering Practices• 1. Asking questions • 2. Using models • 3. Conducting investigations • 4. Analyzing data • 5. Using math• 6. Constructing explanations/ designing solutions • 7. Arguing from evidence• 8. Communicating information

Experimental Method1. Problem/ Question2. Hypothesis- proposed explanation for the observation3. Design an experiment (procedures)4. Collect Data/ evidence5. Analyze results with graphs, math, statistics, etc.6. Reason and discuss- reject or accept the hypothesis

and propose a new direction for exploration

Scientific Experiments • Scientists often design experiments in which they change

one factor and keep the others the same1. Independent variables- the factor that is purposefully

changed by the scientist2. Dependent variables- the factors that change because

the independent was changed. These are measured and observed

3. Controls- kept the same and does not receive the same treatment as the independent variable

Example• Edwin has 10 tomato plants. He puts them all in the same

garden with the same soil. He regularly waters all of the plants. He wants to know if fertilizer will affect the number of tomatoes the plants grow. He fertilizes five of the plants and leaves the other five alone. At the end of a month he counts how many tomatoes are on each plant. The plants with fertilizer have an average of 15 tomatoes and the plants without fertilizer have an average of 8 tomatoes.

• What are the independent, dependent variables and control group?

Claims• Most labs originate with a guiding question.

• Your claim is the concluding statement that answers a question

• The claim is usually one sentence in length.

• It must be specific and completely answer the question.

• Ex: Students who take Cornell notes and use them retain 90-100% of the information they learn

 

Evidence• The evidence is all of the scientific data that supports

your claim.

• Evidence must be sufficient and relevant to your claim. Not all data is considered evidence!

• More evidence is better!

• In our class, evidence can come from lab data, textbook, online resources

Reasoning• Reasoning is the explanation that connects your claim to

the evidence that supports it.

• It shows why the data you chose counts as evidence.

• This explanation acts as a “conclusion” of your experiment.

Reasoning• Reasoning is the explanation that connects your claim to

the evidence that supports it.

• It shows a detailed understanding of the scientific principles involved and uses correct science vocabulary.

• The reasoning should usually be at least a few sentences in length.

Let’s Apply This to Mr. Xavier• Claim: Clearly state how Mr. Xavier died. Don't just say

"He was murdered." You would need to state how he died and who murdered him.

•Evidence: List all of the related observations and test results that support your claim.

•Reasoning: Explain why your evidence proves your claim to be true. (Pretend you are a lawyer.)

What Really Happened to Mr. Xavier• Claim:

The chef's brother murdered Mr. Xavier by causing him to overdose on heart medication.

What Really Happened to Mr. Xavier• Evidence:

• Autopsy - cause of death was overdose on heart medicine• Chef's brother's fingerprints were found on the wine bottle

and the heart medicine bottle. • Traces of heart medicine were found in the wine (both in

the bottle and on the carpet)

What Really Happened to Mr. Xavier• The heart medicine bottle was empty.• The heart medicine was prescribed to Mr. Xavier. • The prescription for the medicine did not run out for

another month.

What Really Happened to Mr. XavierReasoning:

The cause of death proves that either Mr. Xavier intentionally or accidentally overdosed, or he was murdered.

There is no reason for the brother of the chef to be inside the house since he did not work for Mr. Xavier (as far as we know).

What Really Happened to Mr. Xavier• Reasoning:

The chef's brother's fingerprints should not be found anywhere.

Since they were found on both the wine bottle AND medicine bottle, he must have committed the crime!

Real World Claims• People make claims all of the time.

• Friends, parents, and just about every commerical on TV is making a claim about something.

• Discuss some claims you have heard recently at your table.

Some Examples• Energy drinks • Bottled water• Diets• Axe body spray• Airborne• Organic food• Vaccinations• Sketchers • Vitamins• Furniture stores• Car insurance• Magnet bracelets

Your Turn• 1. Use one of the sentence starters below to make a

claim.

A) The greatest (choose one) football / hockey / baseball / soccer / basketball player is ________________________.

B) The best movie is ____________________________.

C) The greatest musical artist (solo or group) is ___________.

Your Turn2. Write down at least 3 pieces of evidence that support your claim.

This data must be accurate!

3. Provide reasoning that explains why you used the evidence you did to determine the "best".