SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Ing. Alfredo García P.

September 2016
As you may recall, science refers to….
 KNOWLEDGE!
“Science refers to knowledge”
How do we
acquire new
knowledge?
… besides Wikipedia
We get new
knowledge
through
 What is the scientific method?
Series of steps followed in order to investigate a
particular phenomenon, situation, or problem from our
environment that we wish to understand better; giving as
a result true knowledge about it.

Process or steps taken to produce reliable results

to answer a specific question
DIFFERENT SOURCES
=
DIFFERENT STEPS
Which version of

will we use?
Steps of the scientific method
1 • Observation
2 • Question
3 • Hypothesis
4 • Experimentation
5 • Conclusion
6 • Publication
• Noticing and describing a natural phenomenon
• Use your five senses

• What do we know and what do we want to know?

• Why does it happen?

• Prediction of what will happen/Possible explanation

• If…. Then….

• Testing of the hypothesis using variables

• Control group vs experimental group

• Data recollection and analysis (quantitative and

qualitative)
• Was the hypothesis correct?

• Share new knowledge

• Create new science!
 Vocabulary
• Variables: conditions of an experiment that can be changed to
test a hypothesis
– Independent: are not related to other changes
– Dependent: will be affected by other conditions; are measured
• Control group: group of objects being tested where conditions
are not affected; work as a reference for the experiment
• Experimental group: group of objects in an experiment exposed
to different conditions
• Data: information gathered through observation after an
experiment is done
– Qualitative: referred to descriptions
– Quantitative: referred to numbers, amounts measured
 Let’s see if you
understood everything
perfectly….
with an exercise!

No need to copy
BRAIN POP VIDEO!

….on my iPad, not yours hehe

 “Little Timmy’s Winning Dream”
• Little Timmy wants to get his plant to grow bigger potatoes. When
he saw Bernard’s potatoes, he realized he had to do something
with his plants. Little Timmy doesn’t want to lose at the Annual
Biggest Potato Contest – again… for the third time. Little Timmy
checked Yahoo Respuestas! and read about how potatoes can grow
larger when you put garlic to the soil. How should Little Timmy test
the advice gotten from the internets?
SCIENTIFIC METHOD for Little Timmy
• Observations: he’s got small potatoes (he
won’t win no contest with those); he wants
(needs) big potatoes in order to win the
contest.
• Questions: What makes potatoes grow
bigger? What does a plant need to survive? …
• Hypothesis: If____________, then
__________ (based on the internet advice)
• Experiment…. (next page)
 Experiment
• Conditions that can affect size of potatoes:
1. ________________________
2. ________________________
3. ________________________
• Control group conditions:
___________________
• Experimental group variable:
___________________
• Data to be measured: _______________
Important things to consider for the
conclusion
• For an experiment to be considered reliable, the
amount of subjects analyzed has to be big
enough. Testing on 1 plant won’t be enough to
prove a hypothesis right or wrong.
• The one and only difference between the
experimental group and the control group, is
the variable being tested (garlic on the soil); all
other variables/conditions have to be exactly the
same.
• Data recollected has to be measured with
precise equipment, under the same conditions
 Activity Time!
(Boring questionnaire)

• Open your iPads

and download
the “Scientific
Method Learning
Activity” from
iTunesU
• Answer it (copy
it) on your
notebooks
QUESTIONS?