Scientific Method Steps
Which step involves coming up with a prediction or educated guess to the question or problem?
Step 3: Form a hypothesis
What is the correct term for the following type of data: blue, Mr. Terry, Coca-Cola?
qualitative data. These are descriptions and involve characteristics that cannot be counted.
This is the variable in an experiment that is changed by the experimenter between different subjects, groups, or samples.
independent variable
Why is it important to repeat an experiment many times?
Experiments should be repeated to see if the same results are obtained each time. This gives validity to the test results.
If you wanted to count the amount of money in your piggy bank, what type of data would you get?
quantitative data
Making an observation and asking a question about something is which step?
Step 1
What is the correct term for the following type of data: 38 miles, 10 gallons, 4.7 centimeters?
quantitative data. This data includes numbers and they are obtained by counting or measuring.
This is a variable that is kept exactly the same between different subjects, groups, or samples.
Controlled variable or control
What is the importance of a control group in an experiment?
The control shows what will happen when the experimental factor is omitted. Without the control, there would be no basis for comparison and you would not know how the experimental factor affected the results.
You've just finished an experiment measuring the effects of different amounts of fertilizer on plants. What step of the scientific method includes looking at the data to see if there are any patterns and if you can state anything based off of these patterns?
Step 5: Analyze Results and Draw Conclusions
What is step 5 of the scientific method?
Analyze results and draw conclusions
This is a possible explanation to a question or problem.
Hypothesis
This is the variable that is being measured in an experiment and depends on what is being changed between different subjects, groups, or samples.
Dependent variable
Why is it so important that a scientist accurately describes the procedure used in the experiment?
It allows other scientists to repeat the experiment and verify the results.
In the vaccine pill experiment, all 50 participants got the exact same looking pill even though only 25 had the vaccine in them and the other 25 were sugar pills. Why would you want to do this?
To eliminate the placebo effect. This is where a group thinks something will work or not based on knowing the treatment they're getting and expecting the treatment to either work or not. The group members can unknowingly affect the results a certain way if they expect a certain result.
In step 6, what must be done with an experiment before a theory can be formed?
The experiment must be tested many times, and many people need to share the same results.
After a hypothesis has been experimentally tested many times and is supported by a lot of evidence, what can then be formed?
A theory
You are a member of the basketball team. You want to find out if practicing basketball regularly will increase the number of points you score in a game compared to not practicing. In this scenario, what is the dependent variable, independent variable, and an example of a controlled variable?
Independent variable: amount of time spent practicing
Dependent variable: number of points scored in a game
Controlled variables: basketball used, shoes worn, court played on, etc.
How is a theory different than a hypothesis?
A hypothesis is an “educated guess” that is testable through observations and experimentation. A theory is a broad statement of what is believed to be true based on many experiments and considerable amounts of data.
Mr. Terry's projector keeps cutting off randomly during class. He decides to figure out why this is by researching the problem. Where is one place he could look that is most likely to tell him why his projector keeps cutting off randomly?
The projector's instruction manual
When many people perform step 2, they stop after this and don't finish the rest of the steps of the scientific method. What is step 2, why do many people stop after it, and why is this a problem?
Step 2 is Research the problem. Many people stop after this step because they quickly find information they think is correct from online sources like Google. The problem with this is that not everything found on Google or the internet is true or reliable.
Explain the difference between a control group and an experimental group in an experiment.
The control group is the group that does not receive whatever is being tested. The experimental group is the group that does receive whatever is being tested.
Why is it so important that only one variable is changed at a time in a controlled experiment?
If more than one variable is changed at a time, an experimenter wouldn't know what was responsible for the observed results. By having only one variable that is changed and keeping all other variables the same, you can know for sure if the thing your testing is responsible or not responsible for your observed results.
Why is it important to have a large sample size in any experiment?
It is important to test a large sample in order to get a true picture of the results of the experiment. If the sample size is too small, an inaccurate conclusion may be reached. Results obtained by testing a large number of individuals would be much more accurate than if only a few individuals had been tested.
Why is it important that you share your results of your experiment with others?
So that if other people later on have the same question you did, they can see your results and compare them to their own from their experiment. If a large enough number of people get the same results for an experiment, then a theory can be formed.