The Scientific Method Study Guide and notes

The Scientific Method Study Guide and notes

 

 

The Scientific Method Study Guide and notes

The Scientific Method:

  • Make an OBSERVATION that leads to a question or problem. An observation is made using the five senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. An observation is a fact (example: Sarah observed Hector kick his locker). An inference, on the other hand, is an opinion about an observation – it may or may not be correct (example: Sarah inferred that Hector forgot his locker key).
  • State the PROBLEM. What question are you trying to find an answer to? The problem should be in the form of a question.
  • Gather INFORMATION about the problem. Look up information at the library or ask an expert. Think about the experiences that you have had that will help you find the answer.
  • Form a HYPOTHESIS (an educated guess) based on the information that you gathered. What do you think the answer to the problem might be? This is your possible answer.
  • Do an EXPERIMENT. In order to find the answer to a problem, scientists do an experiment. NOTE: only one thing at a time can be changed in an experiment.
    • Independent Variable- The variable you investigate to determine its effect. This is the thing that you change.
    • Dependent Variable- The variable you measure to see if the independent variable has any effect. This is the thing that changes in response to what you changed.
    • Controlled Variables- Variables in the experiment that do not change. They are kept the same in every part of the experiment.
    • The Control is the group in the experiment that does not have the variable. Not all experiment s have a control.
  • RECORD the results that you got from your experiment. Collect DATA. Data is defined as recorded observations and measurements. Usually a chart or a graph is used to display data from an experiment.
  • State your CONCLUSION and make PREDICTIONS. Your conclusion is based on the results of your data that you gathered about your experiment. Your conclusion tells you whether or not your hypothesis is right or wrong. If your hypothesis is right, go to step # 8 below. If your hypothesis was wrong, go back to step #4 above.
  • RETEST: make sure that your conclusion is correct by redoing the experiment.

 

Chocolate Experiment

Directions: Read the experiment below and use the information to complete the data table and answer the questions.

Experiment:

  • Mr. Lehman wanted to know whether or not his students would do better on a quiz if he promised them candy.
  • He went to the library and read several studies about the effect of giving food to lab animals. He found out that if animals were given food as a reward for doing something, they usually did better the more reward they were given.
  • He guessed that the more candy that his students were promised, the better they would do on the quiz.
  • He had all of his classes participate in the experiment. There were four groups in all. Each group had the same amount of boys and girls, they were all given the same quiz, they were all the same age, the same ability, and they were all from the same background.
  • The first group was not promised any candy if they did well on the quiz. The second group was promised 1 candy bar if they did well on the quiz. The third group was promised 2 candy bars if they did well on the quiz. The forth group was promised 3 candy bars if they did well on the quiz.
  • Group #1 got an average of 70% on the quiz. Group #2 got an average of 80% on the quiz. Group #3 got an average of 90% on the quiz. Group #4 got an average of 95% on the quiz.
  • Mr. Lehman then decided that the more candy a group was promised, the better they did on quizzes.
  • He then repeated the experiment with different students

 
Results of the Chocolate Experiment


Group Number

Number of Candy Bars Promised

Average on the Quiz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions:

  • What was the problem that Mr. Lehman was trying to solve?
  • What was his hypothesis?
  • What was his hypothesis based on?
  • What Conclusion did he come to?
  • What was his conclusion based on?
  • Which group in the experiment was the control?
  • Name 4 other variables in the experiment that were controlled?
  • What was the independent variable in the experiment?
  • What was the dependent variable in the experiment?
  • What Data did he find? (Be specific)

 

  • What did he do after he came to a conclusion?

 

Scientific Method Quiz:
Directions: Circle the correct answer.

  • In what step of the Scientific Method do you ask a question?

    1. Conclusion
    2. Problem
    3. Hypothesis
    4. Information

 


  • In what step of the Scientific Method do you go to the library or ask an expert?

    1. Conclusion
    2. Hypothesis
    3. Problem
    4. Information

  • The possible answer to the problem.

    1. Hypothesis
    2. Conclusion
    3. Data
    4. Experiment

 

  • The actual answer to the problem.

    1. Hypothesis
    2. Data
    3. Conclusion
    4. Information

  • The variable that you change in the experiment. Also called the manipulated variable.

    1. Controlled
    2. Dependent
    3. Independent
    4. Responding

 

  • The variable that changes because you changed the other variable. Also called the responding variable.

    1. Dependent
    2. Independent
    3. Controlled
    4. Manipulated

  • The group in the experiment that does not get the variable is called the ___________ group.

    1. Dependent
    2. Control
    3. Independent
    4. Responding

 

  • The variables in the experiment that do not change are called the __________ variables.

    1. Controlled
    2. Independent
    3. Dependent
    4. Manipulated

  • Recorded observations and measurements.

    1. Information
    2. Conclusion
    3. Hypothesis
    4. Data

 

  • The conclusion is based on the results of the _____________.

    1. Information
    2. Hypothesis
    3. Experiment
    4. Problem

 

Source: https://classroom.kleinisd.net/users/2208/docs/scientific_method_notes_and_practice_ipc_chemistry.doc

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The Scientific Method Study Guide and notes

 

The Scientific Method Study Guide and notes

 

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The Scientific Method Study Guide and notes

 

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The Scientific Method Study Guide and notes