Scientific method
What is the first step of the scientific method?
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The Super Plant!
• Maria wanted to see if music helps plants grow.
• She put one plant in the classroom where rock music played all day.
• She put another plant in the quiet library.
What might be wrong with Maria's experiment?
• After a week, the plant in the classroom was much taller!
• Maria concluded: "Rock music makes plants grow taller!"
What is a hypothesis? and give an example
An educated guess
The Bounciest Ball!
• Sam wanted to know which type of ball bounces highest.
• He dropped a tennis ball from his shoulder.
• He dropped a basketball from his head.
• He dropped a golf ball from his waist.
• He just watched to see which one "looked" like it went highest.
• Sam concluded: "The basketball bounces highest!"
What did Sam do differently that might affect his results?
Throw the balls from the same height
Why do scientists do experiments?
To test the hypothesis
Why is it important to change only one thing in an experiment?
To know what caused the results
Put these steps in order: experiment, conclusion, question, hypothesis, analysis
Question, hypothesis, experiment, analysis, conclusion