SCIENCE - 1SCIENCE - 1Mr. HalfenSep. 2011

What is a hypothesis?

Jot down the letters of the definitions/descriptions for hypothesis that you believe are correct.

(Keeley, Eberle & Dorsey, 2008)

hypothesisa) a tentative explanation

b) statement that can be tested

c) an educated guess

d) an investigative question

e) a prediction about the outcome of an experiment

f) a question asked at the beginning of an experiment

g) a statement that may lead to a prediction

h) included as a part of all scientific investigations

i) used to prove whether something is true

j) eventually becomes a theory, then a law

k) may guide an investigation

l) used to determine what data to pay attention to and seek

m) developed from imagination and creativity

n) must be in the form of “if..., then...”

Hypothesis

The accepted answers are: A, B, G, K, L & M.

C - overused & meaningless

D & F - hypotheses are statements, not questions

E & G - predictions do not explain “why?”

H - not all (see models)

I - nothing is absolute in science

J - NO!

N - can be but not required

hypothesis

Hypothesis - a tentative explanation, based on scientific observation or prior knowledge, that can be tested

is it a model?

Jot down the letters of the descriptions for models that you believe are correct.

(Keeley & Tugel, 2009)

modela) building a paper airplane

b) making an analogy (e.g. the heart is like a pump)

c) observing a bird’s behavior at a bird feeder

d) developing an equation to solve a scientific problem

e) making a plant cell out of household materials

f) analyzing whale migration patterns with a computer program

g) building & testing a bridge made of toothpicks

h) drawing an electrical circuit

i) forming a mental image of molecules in a liquid state

j) demonstrating the day/night cycle with a globe & a flashlight

k) dissecting a cow’s bone

l) watching a computer simulation of a hurricane

m) going on a field trip to the Grand Canyon

n) graphing teh speed of a car

o) watching a live video of an active volcano

p) making a replica of a human heart out of clay

q) looking at blood cells under a microscope

model

The accepted answers are A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, N and P.

C, K, M, O and Q all involve using real objects and, therefore, are not models.

models

Models are one means of carrying out scientific research.

Models can be physical (model airplanes), drawings (water cycle), conceptual (food web) or mathematical (equations, graphs or computer models).

scientific research

Models are only one means to carry out scientific research.

There are two other broad categories of scientific research:

observational: making qualitative or quantitative descriptions of real world phenomena

experimental: analysis of a simplified model of a system using a hypothesis to guide the research

Homework

Was the homework scientific research?

If so, what kind of research was the homework?

science

science - the study of the natural world through research to understand how natural objects behave and to make predictions about this world