Scientific Inquiry
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Transcript of Scientific Inquiry
Scientific Inquiry
What is Science?What is Science?
What is Science?
A body of knowledge A set of theories that describes the world
A way of learning about the world
A method to answer questions about the natural world
How do Scientists Learn About the World?1.Ask a question2.Make a prediction3.Test the prediction4.Compare results to the
prediction5.Make a conclusion6.Hypothesis is either
rejected, or supported
The Scientific Method-ask a question
Only questions which can be answered through experiments. Examples of good scientific questions: How does the amount of nitrogen fertilizer affect the height of pea plants?
Does increasing the temperature of an enzyme increase its rate of reaction?
Write a Good Scientific Question.
Scientific Method-make a prediction Make a prediction
A scientists prediction about the results of an experiment is called the hypothesis
The hypothesis must be testable and specific and always written as a statement
Hypotheses usually begin with “I think that……” or “If…………then…………”
Example: I think that the more fertilizer that a pea plant gets, the taller it will grow
Scientific Method-test the prediction Controlled Experiments
Used by Scientists to test their hypothesis
Always have at least two groups:Control Group- stays the sameExperimental Group- changes, receives some sort of treatment
How are the control group and the experimental group different?
1.
2.
Scientific Method-compare results Scientists analyze the data collected
Data is information Compare the data from the control group with the experimental group
Use statistics to see if there is significant difference
Example- the pea plants in the experimental group grew an average of 18.3cm, while the control group grew an average of 12.6cm
Scientific Method- make a conclusion
Examine data, charts, graphs, to determine if the hypothesis is supported or rejected
Could the differences be due to chance? Use statistics to tell
Scientific Method- hypothesis rejected or supported?
If supported, repeat experiment to see if it is valid ( able to be repeated with the same results)
If rejected, then come up with a new hypothesis and experiment, repeat the process
Controlled Experiments- variables Three types of variables:
Independent- the thing that is different between the experimental and control group
Dependent- the data you collect as your experiment progresses, depends on the independent variable
Controlled- remains the same
I set up an experiment with 30 pea plants. I give 10 plants no fertilizer, 10 plants 5g. of fertilizer, and 10 plants 15g. of fertilizer. After 14 days I measure the height of the plants.
What is the independent variable? The amount of fertilizer
What is the dependent variable? The height of the pea plants
What are the 2 controlled variables? The amount of soil and water
What is the control group? Plants with no fertilizer
What is the experimental group? The two groups of plants getting fertilizer
What makes a good experiment? Large number of samples Only one independent variable
Validity Conclusions based on evidence
Is based on fact, not opinion
Design an Experiment ! Think of an experiment to test the hypothesis that sleeping more than 8 hours a night improves a students grades on Science quizzes! Control group: Experimental Group: Independent Variable: Dependent Variable: Controlled Variables: