Exploring our World

1
Exploring our World Using the Scientific Method
2
I am Sir Francis Bacon, today well be talking
about the Steps of the Scientific Method
We use the scientific method to organize our
thoughts, experiments and evaluate possible
answers. It will be an integral part of this
class and your science project. To help me today
is my friend, Jonathan.
Sir Francis Beacon Developer of the Scientific
Method
3
Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
4
OHHH KAYY!!!
I developed the Scientific Method to help
scientists better organize their work.
There are seven steps and you must know them all,
so take notes, OK?
5
The Steps Are

• Ask a Question
• Research
• Form a Hypothesis
• Test your Hypothesis
• Record Data
• Analyze your Results
• Draw a Conclusion

6
Plant Growth Yeahhhh!!!!
Lets say we want to know how the amount of light
a plant gets affects its growth.
Thank you, Jonathan.
7
What???
The process begins by Asking a question
What is it you want to know?
How does the amount of light affect the growth of
plants?
8
The next step is to research and find out as much
as you can about your subject, so you can
Form a hypothesis
9
Hypothesis
IfThen Yeahh!!!

• An educated guess
• Should be in an if..then format
• If I vary the amount of light a plant receives
  then its growth will be affected.

10
Test Your Hypothesis

• This is your controlled experiment
• Here you control variables which affect the
  outcome of your experiment
• There are three types of Variables

11
Types of Variables

• Independent (manipulated) Variable
• What you change

• Dependent (responding) Variable
• What you measure

• Constant
• What remains the same through out the trials

12
Knowww Them!!!
Know your Variables, they are Important!!!
13
If we were testing how light affects plant growth
our independent variable would be what?
What???
14
If we were testing how light affects plant growth
our dependent variable would be what?
If we were testing how light affects plant growth
our dependent variable would be what?
What???
15
If we were testing how light affects plant growth
our constants would be what?
What???
16
Record your Data
It is important to keep accurate
records!!! Right?

• Record your procedure
• You must record your procedure so others can
  repeat your experiment and compare their results
  to yours
• Record your results
• Accurately
• Compare against the Control
• Control is the standard which you do not change
  the independent variable

17
Accurate Records!!! Yeahhhhh!
Thank you, Jonathan.
18
Analyze your Results
Pie Chart
Bar Graph
Line Graph

• Put your data in a form that you can understand

19
Drawing a Conculsion

• Does your data agree or disagree with your
  hypotheisis?
• If it agrees your hypothesis was correct
• If it doesnt agree your hypothesis was incorrect
• Either way you learned something

20
Follow these Steps
OOOHHH- KAAYYY!!!!!

• Ask a Question
• Research
• Form a Hypothesis
• Test your Hypothesis
• Record Data
• Analyze your Results
• Draw a Conculsion

21
Your grade depends on knowing this
Its 25 of FCAT!