The Scientific Method Movie

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The Scientific MethodMovie

• An experiment tests an idea in a careful orderly
  manner. The orderly steps used are called The
  Scientific Method.

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Stating the Problem

• Example
• Which freezes faster, fresh water of salt water?

• A scientific question that can be answered by
  gathering evidence.

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ResearchGathering information on the problem.
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Develop a Hypothesis

• A hypothesis is a prediction about the outcome of
  the experiment. A properly worded hypothesis
  should take the form of an If then statement.

Example If I add salt to fresh water, then the
water will take longer to freeze.
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Designing an Experiment

• A variable is any factor that can change in an
  experiment.
• The factor that you change is called the
  manipulated variable or independent variable.
• The responding variable or dependent variable is
  what you measure or observe to obtain your
  results.
• A controlled variable is a factor that is kept
  constant. You use the control to make a
  comparison.

• Next, you need to develop a plan to test your
  hypothesis. Your plan should describe the
  observations or measurements you will make.
• In a well designed experiment, you need to keep
  all variables the same except for one.

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Example of an Experimental Procedure

• Fill 3 containers with 300 milliliters of cold
  tap water.
• 2. Add 10 grams of salt to container 1 and stir.
  Add 20 grams of salt to container 2 and stir.
  Add no salt to container 3.
• 3. Place the 3 containers in a freezer.
• 4. Check the containers every 15 minutes. Record
  your observations.

• The manipulated/independent variable is the
  amount of salt added to the water.
• The responding/dependent variable is how long it
  takes the water to freeze.
• The control is container 3, which has no salt
  added. This allows you to compare how long it
  takes regular water and salt water to freeze.
• Notice that the other factors, such as the amount
  of water or starting temperature are kept
  constant. This ensures valid results and that
  only one variable is tested.

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• Hypothesis an educated guess or prediction an
  if, then statement
• If ..independent variable,
• then..dependent variable.

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Example

• Independent Variable
• I feed my cat a lot of food
• Dependent Variable
• she will get fat
• If ___________________________
• then _________________________

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Remember
Try to use INCREASE and DECREASE in your
hypothesis! Ex. IF I increase the amount of food
I give my cat, THEN she will increase her weight
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Now Try it on Your Own!

• Writing a Good Hypothesis
• Just plug and chug in your variables!

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Types of Variables

• There are 2 main types of variables
• Independent Variable The variable that is
  changed by the scientist the I control
  variable
• Dependent Variable The variable that might
  change because of what the scientist changes
  what is being measured

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Remember!

• Your hypothesis can TELL you what your variables
  are!
• Ex. If I drink Mountain Dew before bed, then I
  will not sleep very much.
• IV Drinking Mountain Dew
• DV the amount of sleep

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Practice

• Use this hypothesis to identify the variables
• If I leave all the lights on all day,
• then my electric bill will be
• Expensive.
• IV ______________________
• DV ______________________

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• If I brush my cat more, then there will be less
  fur on my furniture
• IV ______________________
• DV ______________________

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Now read the following experiment and identify
the independent and dependent variables

• Elizabeth wanted to test if temperature affected
  how fast milk goes bad and curdles. She left milk
  in a room temperature closet, a fridge, and a
  oven that was turned on low heat. She then
  measured how rotten the milk was after 10 days.
• IV ____________________________________
• DV ____________________________________

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Operational Definition

• Before beginning the experiment, you must have a
  clear operational definition. An operational
  definition is a statement that describes how a
  particular variable is to be measured or how a
  term is to be defined.
• For example, how will you determine if the water
  is frozen? You might decide to insert a stick in
  each container in the beginning of the experiment
  . Your operational definition of frozen could be
  the time at which the stick can no longer move.

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Review

• In an experiment, there is something that a
  scientist is testing they control this

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Review

• In an experiment, because the scientist is
  changing this independent variable, this is going
  to change and the scientist will measure that
  change

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Review

• This is an educated guess of what is going to
  happen during an experiment the scientist forms
  this at the beginning of the experiment.

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Did You Get Them Right?

1. Independent Variable
2. Dependent Variable
3. Hypothesis

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Constant

• Constant something that scientist makes sure is
  the same throughout the experiment.
• Ex. Watering the plants the same amount of water
  or making sure you are testing the same person
  every time.

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Control

• Control The part of the experiment that the
  scientist doesnt change or add the variable to.
• Ex. The plant with the white light.

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Materials

• Before beginning the experiment, make a list of
  all the materials you will need to complete it.

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Observations

• You perform the experiment see what happens.
  You may need to take measurements, pictures etc.
  depending on the nature of the experiment.

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Observation

• What is an observation?
• Using your five senses to take note of and
  observe your surroundings
• Lets go over examples!

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Inference

• An inference is when you make an assumption or
  prediction about something that you observe
• After you make an observation, you usually make
  an inference about what is going on

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Lets practice making inferences!

• The next three slides show some fossil imprints
  that were found during a archeological dig. Were
  going to record some observations and then make
  some inferences about what may have happened
  millions of years ago.

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What do you think happened?
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Data

• The observations measurements you make in an
  experiment are called data. You gather that data
  and organize it into tables, charts or graphs.
  Then think through what the data reveals. Does
  it support your hypothesis?

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Types of Data

• Quantitative Data Involves measurements or
  numbers. This data is organized into graphs
  (bar, line, etc.)

• Qualitative Data Involves descriptions or words.
  This data is organized into tables or pictures.

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Axes of a Graph

• X-axis (horizontal axis)
• Horizontal means
• Y-axis (vertical axis)
• Vertical means

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Label the x and y axes
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Label the x and y axes
Y-Axis Dependent Variable
X-Axis (Independent Variable)
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Scale

• Now you need to select evenly spaced intervals
  that include all your data (a scale).
• Data set 1 15, 30, 45, 7, 64. 96
• Minimum value for scale____
• Maximum Value for scale____

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Intervals

• Now you need to select evenly spaced intervals
  that include all your data (a scale).
• Data set 1 15, 30, 45, 7, 64. 96
• Minimum value for scale__7_
• Maximum Value for scale_96_

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Title_____________________
Money
Student Number
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Title_____________________
Money
Student Number
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Remember TAILS

• T Title
• A Axis (Draw the X Y Axis)
• I Intervals (Pick an interval for your data
  numbers)
• L Label each axis
• S Scale should take up a page or half a page
  (never tiny).

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Drawing a Conclusion

• A conclusion is a statement that sums up what you
  have learned from an experiment. You need to
  decide whether the data you collected supports
  your hypothesis or not. You should repeat an
  experiment several times before you can draw any
  conclusions from it.

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Repeating the Work

• Before the conclusion of can be accepted by the
  scientific community, other scientists must
  repeat the experiment check the results.
• So when a scientist writes a report, it must be
  detailed enough so that scientists around the
  world can repeat the experiment for themselves.

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Find Flaws in this Experiment.

• Gerard wants to find out if egg yolk causes
  silver to tarnish. He labels 2 silver spoons A
  B. He puts egg yolk on both spoons. Then he
  places spoon A in a closed container and leaves
  spoon B out in the open air. He checks the
  spoons over the next few days.
• Flaws Egg yolk, which is suppose to be the
  variable, should not be put on both spoons.
  Other factors, such as the exposure to air,
  should be kept the same for both spoons.

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Find Flaws in this Experiment.

• Daria wants to find out if fertilizer causes
  plants to grow taller. She takes 2 plant shoots
  of the same size type and labels them A B.
  She adds fertilizer to plant A but not to plant
  B. Then she places plant A in a sunny window and
  waters it everyday. She places plant B on a
  bookshelf away from the sun and waters it every
  other day.
• Flaws The experiment has too many variables.
  Daria has varied the amount of light and water
  each plant receives. Except for fertilizer, all
  other conditions should be kept the same.

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Problem Solving

• Hypothesis Turtle eggs develop into male turtles
  in cold temperatures and into female turtles in
  warm temperatures.
• Predict whether this hypothesis is fact or
  fiction. Design a simple experiment to show if
  the hypothesis is or is not correct. Make sure
  your experiment has an experimental setup and a
  control setup.

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Practice Drawing a Conclusion

• Here is one way a biologist might design the
  experiment. A great quantity of the same type of
  turtle eggs are collected. Batches of 25 eggs
  are out in containers at different temperatures.
  After 60 days, the following data is recorded

Temp. Male Female
26C 21 2
28C 13 11
30C 1 19
32C 1 20