The Scientific Method
What is the first step of the scientific method?
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Observation
the act of using the senses to gather information
An astronomer discovers a new planet! What scientific purpose is this?
New Discoveries
What are the 5 senses used for observation?
Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting, Touching
I take my dog for a walk and I see that he pees in the same spot. Is it Science?
Yes, I am making an observation about animal behavior
What is another word for educated guess?
Hypothesis
Evidence
knowledge on which to base belief. Anything that can be used to prove something — like the evidence presented in a trial.
A seismologist predicts the next earthquake in time for people to evacuate. What is this scientific purpose?
Saving Lives
Knowledge gained by observing the natural world is called
Science!
When I take my dog for a walk, I tell everyone she's the smartest dog in the world because she knows her own name. Is this Science?
No! This is my personal opinion about my dog and is not just an observation.
What happens after you Draw Conclusions?
Share or communicate results with the public and scientific community
an established procedure for accomplishing something.
Method
A computer scientist invents Zoom so people don’t need to travel on planes to have meetings. What is this scientific purpose?
Saving the Environment- planes are one of the largest contributors to global warming
to help you gather information about your hypothesis
Long ago, Hawaiian’s noticed that lava steams and turns to rock when it meets the ocean. Is it science?
Yes, this is an observation.
What happens after you run an experiment?
You need to analyze the results and get data
to examine something to find out what it is or what makes it work
Analyze
An ecologist discovers a mushroom that eats plastic. What is this scientific purpose?
Saving the Environment (this is something that happened recently! So cool!)
Is research gathering information from unreliable written sources?
No! Research is gathering information from RELIABLE written sources
Long ago, Hawaiian’s explained that Pele and her sister are the reason lava and water steam. Is it science?
No, this is an added story that is not based just on observation.
Which two steps of the scientific method are similar to each other?
Step 3: Test and Step 7: Re-Test
The way in which scientists answer questions and solve problems
Scientific Method
A biomedical engineer invents a mechanical heart. What is the purpose of this?
Saving Lives
8th Grade Only! 7th and 6th, you won't be tested on this :)
What is the difference between a Scientific Theory and Scientific Law?
A Theory is a well tested hypothesis, a Law is a proven observation.
You observe that Ms. Molly is really grumpy on Wednesdays. You guess that she is tired because she has school on Tuesday night. You speak out of turn on Tuesday and she asks you to raise your hand. On Wednesday, she take away points from your group for doing the same thing. You conclude that Ms. Molly is way more grumpy on Wednesdays. Is this science?
Yes, this is a very simple experiment. You made an observation, had an idea that could explain it, then tested it out and drew a conclusion.
Please do not test this, I can confirm I am more grumpy on Wednesday because I have night school on Tuesday.