Intro to Scientific Inquiry

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Intro to Scientific Inquiry
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Scientific Inquiry

• Science used as a body of knowledge to understand
  how the world works
• Scientific explanations result from a combination
  of observations and what people already know
  about the world
• Ask questions!
• Leads to experiments, collecting data, drawing
  conclusions
• Scientific knowledge subject to change and
  modification

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The Scientific Method

• Making observations
• Asking questions
• Developing a hypothesis
• Designing an experiment
• Collecting data
• Making inferences
• Results (peer review)

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Observation

• def. - the process of obtaining information by
  using the senses
• Examples
• A bottle of seltzer water is sitting in a ice
  bath.
• There is salt in the ice bath.
• The unopened seltzer water is in liquid form.
• The bottle is cold to the touch.
• (After opening the bottle, the seltzer water
  freezes.)

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Question/Problem

• Based on what is known and observed, what
  question or problem do we want to solve in order
  to better understand the scientific world?
• Example
• What will happen to the bottle of seltzer water
  when opened?
• (Why did the seltzer water in the bottle freeze
  after it was opened?)

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Hypothesis

• def a theory or explanation that is based on
  observations and that can be tested
• The if-then hypothesis
• I think that if, then
• Why is the hypothesis so important to scientific
  inquiry?

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Hypothesis continued

• Examples
• I think that if a bottle of seltzer water from
  an ice bath is opened, then the bottle will
  explode.
• I think that if a bottle of seltzer water from
  an ice bath is opened, then the water inside will
  freeze.