Scientific Processes

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Scientific Processes

• Inquiry and Problem Solving

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Science and InquiryThe Connection

• Throughout history, intellectual inquiry has been
  focused on the discovery of patterns, systems,
  structures, and orders. - Why you may ask?
• Primarily, individuals desire to control the
  unpredictable. This desire is driven by their
  fear of the unknown.
• Those who pursue answers of inquiries as a
  profession (specifically the answers of
  scientific inquiries) are known as scientists.
  The main occupation of a scientist is problem
  solving. To solve their problems, scientists
  rely on the scientific method.

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What is the Scientific Method?

• Definition
• The Scientific Method is defined as
• The rules and procedures for the pursuit of
  knowledge involving the finding and stating of a
  problem, the collection of facts through
  observation and experiment, and the making and
  testing of ideas that need to be proven right or
  wrong
• A process used to find answers to questions about
  the world around us

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The Scientific Method

• Purpose
• To help scientists ensure that the theories they
  test are true by testing a hypotheses with tests.
  
• To construct models and theories, to achieve a
  final goal of understanding.

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Given the Previous Information, Complete the
Following Activity

• Independently brainstorm the steps to completing
  a successful experiment.
• Decide on the number of steps needed to design an
  experiment.
• And, explain the process to follow in each step.

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The Next Activity

• Divide yourselves into groups consisting of four
  to five members each. There should be a total of
  four groups amongst the class.
• Now, as a group decide upon a standard set of
  steps needed to conduct an experiment using the
  steps you have all brainstormed individually.
• All groups must come to a consensus regarding the
  steps
• The steps will be used to perform various science
  experiments in the next activity

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The Experiments

• Each group will be assigned an experiment to
  complete.
• The groups are to follow the steps and procedures
  created in the previous activity.
• Each group is required to document the procedures
  (steps) they followed to conduct the experiments
  and the ending results of the experiments.

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Experiment 1Group 1

• Determine which brand of paper towels is the
  strongest and most absorbent.
• There will be various brands of paper towels to
  choose from.
• There will also be a choice of liquids to select
  from.

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Experiment 2Group 2

• Determine the buoyancy of certain objects.
• Again there will be various objects to choose
  from including eggs, eraser, cotton, etc...
• There will also be various liquids to select from
  and various containers as well.

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Experiment 3Group 3

• Test the dissolve of specific ingredients.
• There will be several ingredients to choose from
  such as salt, flour, pepper, etc
• There will also be various liquids to select from
  for this experiment.

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Experiment 4Group 4

• Determine which objects will fall faster when
  released in mid air.
• Again there will be various objects to select
  from for testing, including ping-pong ball vs.
  tennis ball grape vs. orange, etc

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Lets Rotate!

• Each group will complete their assigned
  experiment then rotate to another experiment
  until all groups have completed each of the four
  experiments.
• Group 1 will rotate to Experiment 2 Group 2 will
  rotate to Experiment 3 Group 3 will rotate to
  Experiment 4 and Group 4 will rotate to
  Experiment 1.
• Follow this pattern until all groups have
  completed all experiments.

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Time to Make a Prediction

• Complete the following activity
• Independently predict whether each group
  completed each experiment and made the same
  conclusion.
• Provide a brief explanation explaining your
  reasoning as to whether or not each group
  concluded the same results.

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Now, Lets Tally, Discuss the Results, and
Evaluate your Predictions!

• Who was right?
• Who was wrong?
• and Why?

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Take Note!

• The distinct results achieved by each group are
  due to the various sets of procedures and lack of
  consistency amongst the groups when completing
  the experiments.
• How can we address this issue?

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What do Scientists Do?

• When scientists conduct experiments, they abide
  by a strict set of guidelines called the
  Scientific Method.
• What is the Scientific Method? Im glad you
  asked!

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Remember that Earlier we defined the Scientific
Method is as

• The rules and procedures for the pursuit of
  knowledge involving the finding and stating of a
  problem, the collection of facts through
  observation and experiment, and the making and
  testing of ideas that need to be proven right or
  wrong
• A process used to find answers to questions about
  the world around us

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What are the steps of the Scientific Method?
Any Guesses???
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The Scientific Method

• There are seven steps of the Scientific Method
• P
• O
• H
• E
• T
• D
• C
• Lets think of a mnemonic device to help us
  remember the steps!

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Step One (P)

• 1. Choose a Problem.
• State the problem as a question.
• It is important to clearly state what your
  problem is to avoid any confusion later in the
  scientific method.

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Step Two (O)

• 2. Make Observations about your problem.
• Read, research, get advice, and record
  observations about your stated problem.

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Step Three (H)

• 3. Develop a Hypothesis.
• The hypothesis is formed by examining the
  observations carefully and making a an educated
  guess (prediction) as to what may happen and what
  the outcome might be.

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Step Four (E)

• 4. Design an Experiment.
• Plan how you will test your hypothesis.

? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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Step Five (T)

• 5. Test your hypothesis.
• Conduct the experiment and record the data.
• The experiment must be unbiased in nature,
  meaning that the scientist cannot create an
  experiment that will favor the outcome that they
  have predicted in their hypothesis.

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Step Six (D)

• 6. Organize your Data.
• Create a chart or graph of your data.

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Step Seven (C)

• 7. Draw Conclusions.
• Analyze your data and summarize your findings.
• Scientists draw conclusions by examining the data
  from the experiment. There are basically two
  possible outcomes.
• Either the experiment supported the hypothesis
  and can be regarded as true, or
• the experiment disproved the hypothesis as false.
  If the hypothesis is false, repeat the steps in
  the scientific method and make adjustments to
  your hypothesis.

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So what else do I need to know to conduct a
successful experiment?

• Dont forget about Controls and Variables!
• And the importance of a Controlled Experiment!

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To conduct a scientific investigation, care must
be taken to follow experimental procedures when
designing an experiment to test a hypothesis. 
When planning an experiment remember to

• Keep everything the same except for the single
  variable being tested.   A variable is something
  that can be changed in the experiment.  It is
  what you are testing.  Everything else must be
  the same and only one variable or condition is
  altered or changed.
• A control group should be used when conducting an
  experiment.  This group receives the same
  attention as the test groups, however, it will
  not be influenced by the variable the other
  groups are testing.

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Controlled Experiment

• An experiment in which only one variable is
  manipulated at a time in order to establish a
  cause/effect relationship.
• You dont want more than one variable per
  experiment because then you will not be able to
  determine which variable produced the end result.
  

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In a controlled experiment, two setups are used

• Control Setup
• Uses all the same equipment and conditions but no
  variables are tested. This provides a baseline
  for comparison with the results of the
  experimental setup.
• Experimental Setup
• Is set up exactly the same way as the control,
  but the one aspect to be measured is factored in.
  This setup uses the independent variable (cause)
  which determines the dependent variable (effect).
  

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Controlled Experiments Setups (continued)

• By running the two setups simultaneously, a
  scientist will have an excellent idea as to what
  effect the changing of one item has on the
  outcome of the experiment
• The results of the unchanged experiment will also
  be readily available for comparison

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Our Experiments

• Where did we go wrong? AND How can we fix it?

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Solution

• Adhere to the seven steps of the Scientific
  Method
• Implement the process of a Controlled Experiment
• Identify specific controls and variables for each
  experiment

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Now
Let's Reperform!!!