1. Warm -up
• Suppose you want to test which
brand of floor cleaner is the best.
1. What materials would you need?
2. What procedure would you follow?
3. How would you determine which
cleaner produced the best results?
2. 1-2 Scientific Method
• Describe the steps of the scientific method.
• Apply the steps of the scientific method to
real world scenarios.
3. Scientific Method
• A series of steps that scientists use answer
questions and solve problems
• A logical, organized way to solve problems.
4. Steps of Scientific Method
• State the problem – Ask questions
• Gather information
• Form a Hypothesis
• Perform experiment and collect data
• Analyze/Interpret data
• Draw a conclusion
6. Six: State the Problem
• The scientist identifies
the question or subject
that he/she wishes to
study
– Clear, specific & defined
7. Great: Gather Information
• The scientist researches the
subject that he/she is
studying.
– Places to do research:
library, internet,
encyclopedia, television, etc.
8. Farmers: Form Hypothesis
• Prediction about the
outcome of an experiment
• Proposed answer to the
question
• Usually has the words “If...
Then”
– IF I eat too much, THENI
will get sick
9. Plant: Perform Experiment
• Scientists develop a way to
test their hypothesis
• Manipulated Variable: part of
the experiment that can be
changed or controlled
• Responding Variable: What
is measured in the experiment
• Controlled Variable: part of
the experiment that remain
unchanged
10. All: Analyze Data
• Scientists compile data into
charts and graphs
• This helps make sense of the
information taken from the
experiment
11. Day: Draw Conclusions
• Scientist decides whether the
original hypothesis was
correct.
– If the answer is “YES” then
you are done
– If the answer is “NO” then a
new hypothesis is made and
you repeat the experiment
12.
13.
14. Law vs. Theory
Law – a rule of nature
Answers the question
“what?”
Examples: Law of
Attraction and
Repulsion, Law of
Universal Gravitation
Theory – An explanation
based on repeated
experimentation and
observation.
Answers the question
“why”
Examples: Theory of
Evolution, Atomic
Theory
15. Law vs. Theory
• Theories do not become laws!!! What
doesn’t replace why!
• A theory represents everything currently
known about a topic.
• Everything known supports the theory. If
anything is discovered that disproves the
theory, the theory is dismissed or adapted to
suit the new information.
• A theory is “worth” much more than a
“fact”!
16. Conclusion
• What is the purpose of the scientific
method?
• How does a scientific law differ from a
scientific theory?
