2. 1) Observation which leads to a question
2) Questions then lead to a hypothesis
3) A good hypothesis then leads to a test
4) Once tested, results are collected
5) results are then interpreted to reach a conclusion
6) Upon reaching a conclusion, the results are
communicated
3. Observation versus
inference
• Observations are done with your 5 senses:
taste, smell, touch, hearing, sight. No
judgements are added
• Inferences are added to observations in an
attempt to explain the observation
4. Hypothesis
• Everyone knows that a hypothesis is an
educated guess, but what does that mean?
You must have some knowledge about the
actual topic before you can make a guess. If
you don't have any knowledge then you must
research
• The other aspect of a hypothesis is that it
must be testable. If you can't test it then it is
just a guess and can never go farther than
that
5. Experiment
• You must be able to control as many
influences as possible. Whenever possible try
to have only one dependent variable
• Variables: something that changes
• Independent variable: it is the variable that
you control or manipulate yourself
• Dependent variable: it is the variable that
changes as a result of the independent
variable. It depends on he independent
variable.
6. Conclusion
• A conclusion is broken down into 2 parts:
discussion, and conclusion/theory
• Discussion is drawn which addresses specific
data, possible errors, and leading to new
experiments
• Conclusion is a final discussion which
compares data to the hypothesis and
declares a theory of the outcomes
7. Communication
• Scientific communication is done by
communicating and discussing results and
theories arrived at during this process.
Communication is done within the scientific
community and aids in arriving at the best
possible explanation.
8. Theory vs Law
• Theories are explanations that fit the current
outcome and could explain it
• Laws are agreed upon set of standards by
the scientific community which renders
theories as close to facts as possible
