The document outlines the steps of the scientific method and explores the components of scientific investigations through various questions and scenarios. It emphasizes critical skills such as observation, hypothesis formulation, experimentation, and communication of results while providing practical examples. The document also highlights the importance of controlling variables and conducting multiple trials to ensure reliable and repeatable outcomes.

1. SCIENTIFIC
INVESTIGATION
PREPARED BY: TYPE YOUR NAME HERE

2. S7MTIa-1
Describe the
components of
a scientific
investigation

3. PRETEST/POST TEST
 1. What is the correct order of steps in the scientific
method?
 A. Ask a question, make a hypothesis, test the
hypothesis, draw conclusions, and analyze results.
 B. Ask a question, make a hypothesis, test the
hypothesis, analyze results, and draw conclusions.
 C. Ask a question, analyze results, make a
hypothesis, test the hypothesis, and draw
conclusions.
 D. Make a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, analyze
results, ask a question, and draw conclusions.

4.  2. Which of the following questions is
best considered as scientific?
 A. Who invented electricity?
 B. How long did dinosaurs live on Earth?
 C. How many koalas are there in
Australia?
 D. Does the amount of salt in water
affect the temperature at which it boils?

5.  3. What is the process of obtaining
information using your senses?
 A. Inquiry C. Observation
 B. Conclusion D. Scientific
Method
 4. What variable can be changed or
manipulated?
 A. Dependent variable
 B. Experimental variable
 C. Independent variable
 D. Uncontrolled variable

6.  5. A scientist hypothesizes that the
temperature at which an ostrich’s egg is
incubated will determine whether the
ostrich will be male or female. What is the
independent variable of this experiment?
 A. Scientist
 B. Incubator
 C. Temperature
 D. gender of the ostrich

7. 6. Please refer to situation in number 5,
what is the dependent variable?
A. Scientist C. Temperature
B. Incubator D. gender of the ostrich
7. What do you call an idea or explanation
that you test through study and
experimentation?
A. Question C. Conclusion
B. Hypothesis D. Observation

8.  8. What do you call the things in an experiment that must
be the same to make it fair?
 A. Controlled variables C. Independent variables
 B. Dependent variables D. Uncontrolled variables
 9. A scientist is already contemplating whether the data of
his experiments support his hypothesis. At this point the
scientist is __________________.
 A. asking a question
 B. making observations
 C. drawing a conclusion
 D. forming a hypothesis

9.  10. Which refers to scientific procedure
undertaken by scientists to test a hypothesis
and make a discovery or demonstrate a known
fact?
 A. Theory C. Conclusion
 B. Inference D. Experiment
 11. When a scientist shares her findings with
other scientists, she is ____________.
 A. experimenting
 B. analyzing data
 C. making a hypothesis
 D. communicating results

10. 12. In which step of the scientific method do
we want to use graphs?
A. Analyze data C. Make hypothesis
B. Asking questions D. Communicate
results
13. Why is the Scientific Method an important
process in doing experiments?
A. It takes more work but it’s worth it.
B. It helps the experiment to take longer and
be better.
C. It ensures that the results can be trusted and
repeated.
D. It ensures that the people doing the
experiments are scientific.

11. 14. What is the purpose of doing multiple
trials in an experiment?
A. To get as much data as possible.
B. To make sure the procedure is done
correctly every time.
C. Eliminate observations that are not typical
and reduce errors.
D. To double-check the results so they are
the same each time.
15. A series of steps designed to help you
solve problems and answer questions.
A.Experiment C. Observation
B. Hypothesis D. Scientific method

12. Method of Scientific
Investigation
 Science is all around us. Almost everything in our lives is
closely related to science.
 Science is from the Latin word, scientia, which means
‘to know’.
 Scientists are curious about things and happenings in
nature. They observe them and ask questions about
them. Then they find answers to those questions.
 One of the ways to obtain answers is to carry out a
scientific investigation. In this way, scientists build up
the knowledge of science (or scientific knowledge).

13. NOW LET’S
MAKE THIS
EASIER!

14. THE
SCIENTIFIC
METHOD

15. The Scientific
Method involves a
series of steps that
are used to
investigate a
natural occurrence.

16. Problem/Question
Observation/Research
Formulate a Hypothesis
Experiment
Collect and Analyze Results
Conclusion
Communicate the Results

17. Observation
• Careful
observation is the
core to scientific
investigation
• While observing
we tend to ask
questions
• These skills can
include but are not
limited to:
• Thinking
• Observing
• Predicting
• Investigating
• Researching
• Modeling
• Measuring
• Analyzing
• Inferring

18. Steps of the
Scientific Method
1. Problem/Question: Develop a
question or problem that can
be solved through
experimentation.

19. 2. Observation/Research: Make
observations and research
your topic of interest.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

20. Do you
remember
the next
step?

21. 3. Formulate a Hypothesis:
Predict a possible answer to
the problem or question.
Example: If soil temperatures
rise, then plant growth will
increase.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

22. 4. Experiment: Develop and
follow a procedure.
Include a detailed materials list.
The outcome must be
measurable.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

23. 5. Collect and Analyze Results:
Modify the procedure if
needed.
Confirm the results by retesting.
Include tables, graphs, and
photographs.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

24. 6. Conclusion: Include a
statement that accepts or
rejects the hypothesis.
Make recommendations for
further study and possible
improvements to the
procedure.
Steps of the
Scientific Method

25. 7. Communicate the Results:
Present or publish
Expect questions and criticism
from the readers and the
audiences
Steps of the
Scientific Method

26. Think you
can name
all seven
steps?

27. Let’s put our knowledge of the
Scientific Method to a realistic
example that includes some of the
terms you’ll be needing to use and
understand.

28. Problem/Question
John watches his
grandmother bake
bread. He ask his
grandmother what
makes the bread rise.
She explains that yeast
releases a gas as it
feeds on sugar.

29. Problem/Question
John wonders if the
amount of sugar used
in the recipe will affect
the size of the bread
loaf?

30. Caution!
Be careful how you use effect and
affect.
Effect is usually a noun and affect, a
verb.
“ The effect of sugar amounts on the
rising of bread.”
“How does sugar affect the rising of
bread?”

31. Observation/Research
John researches the
areas of baking and
fermentation and tries
to come up with a way
to test his
question.
He keeps all of his
information on this

32. John talks with his
teacher and she gives
him a Experimental
Design Diagram to
help him set up his
investigation.

33. Formulate a Hypothesis
After talking with his
teacher and
conducting further
research, he comes
up with a hypothesis.
“If more sugar is added,
then the bread will rise
higher.”

34. Hypothesis
The hypothesis is an educated
guess about the relationship
between the independent and
dependent variables.
Note: These variables will be
defined in the next few slides.

35. Do you know
the difference
between the
independent
and dependent
variables?

36. Independent Variable
The independent, or
manipulated variable, is the one
factor that’s intentionally varied
by the experimenter.
John is going to use 25g., 50g.,
100g., 250g., 500g. of sugar in
his experiment.

37. Dependent Variable
The dependent, or responding
variable, is the factor that may
change as a result of changes
made in the independent variable.
It is the one variable we measure
after the change.
In this case, it would be the size of
the loaf of bread.

38. Controlled Experiment
• Controlled experiment- involves changing
one factor and observing its effect on one
another while keeping all other factors
constant
• Variables- factors that can be changed in
an experiment
• Constant- variables that are not changed
in an experiment

39. Experiment
His teacher helps him come
up with a procedure and list
of needed materials.
Experiment- planned
procedure to test a
hypothesis
She discusses with John how
to determine the control
group.

40. Control Group
In a scientific experiment, the
control is the group that serves
as the standard of comparison.
The control group may be a “no
treatment" or an “experimenter
selected” group.

41. Control Group
The control group is exposed to
the same conditions as the
experimental group, except for
the variable being tested.
All experiments should have a
control group.

42. Control Group
Because his grandmother
always used 50g. of sugar in
her recipe, John is going to use
that amount in his control
group.

43. Constants
John’s teacher reminds
him to keep all other
factors the same so
that any observed
changes in the bread
can be attributed to
the variation in the
amount of sugar.

44. Constants
The constants in an
experiment are all the
factors that the
experimenter attempts
to keep the same.

45. Can you think of some
constants for this
experiment?

46. Constants
They might include:
Other ingredients to the
bread recipe, oven used,
rise time, brand of
ingredients, cooking time,
type of pan used, air
temperature and humidity
where the bread was
rising, oven temperature,
age of the yeast…

47. Trials
Trials refer to replicate
groups that are exposed
to the same conditions
in an experiment.
John is going to test each
sugar variable 3 times.

48. Collect and Analyze Results
John comes up with
a table he can use
to record his data.
John gets all his
materials together
and carries out his
experiment.

49. Size of Baked Bread (LxWxH) cm3
Size of Bread Loaf (cm3)
Trials
Amt. of
Sugar (g.)
25
50
Control group
100
250
500
1 2
768 744
1296 1188
1188 1080
672 576
432 504
Average
3
Size (cm3)
761 758
1296 1260
1080 1116
588 612
360 432

50. Collect and Analyze Results
John examines his
data and notices that
his control worked
the best in this
experiment, but not
significantly better
than 100g. of sugar.

51. Conclusion
John rejects his
hypothesis, but
decides to re-test
using sugar
amounts between
50g. and 100g.

52. Experiment
Once again, John
gathers his materials
and carries out his
experiment.
Here are the results.

53. Can you tell which group
did the best?

54. Size of Baked Bread (LxWxH) cm3
Size of Bread Loaf (cm3)
Trials
Amt. of
Sugar (g.)
50
Control group
60
70
80
90
1 2
1296 1440
1404 1296
1638 1638
1404 1296
1080 1200
Average
3
Size (cm3)
1296 1344
1440 1380
1560 1612
1296 1332
972 1084

55. Conclusion
John finds that 70g.
of sugar produces
the largest loaf.
His hypothesis is
accepted.

56. Communicate the Results
John tells his
grandmother about
his findings and
prepares to present
his project in
Science class.

57. THERE OTHER
WAYS TO
DESCRIBE
SCIENTIFIC
METHOD

58. There are tons of everyday
activities that would make
cool science experiments
using the scientific method.
A student noticed that ice
melted fast in water.
1. MAKE OBSERVATIONS

59. The students’ observations
should lead to some sort of
questions. Does ice melt faster in
different liquids? Curiosity on
what happens to the ice in liquids
is a simple science experiment
perfect for using the scientific
method.
2. COME UP WITH A QUESTION

60. You have made your observations
and you have your questions. Now
you need to make a prediction
about what you think will happen
next. A hypothesis is not simply a
guess! A hypothesis is an
educated guess or tentative
answer to a problem.
3. DEVELOP A HYPOTHESIS
OR PREDICTION

61. The student thinks that ice will melt
faster in juice than it will in water.
Maybe he just wants to get a drink
of juice out of it.
Example:
1.What happens to the growth of
mongo seeds if table salt was
added to the soil?
2.2. Tomato seeds may grow faster
in colder temperature.

62. Hypothesis:
1. If the amount of salt added
to the soil increases, then the
growth of mongo seeds
decreases.
2. If tomato seeds were planted
in colder temperature, then the
seeds will grow at a faster rate.

63. BEFORE
GOING TO
THE
FOURTH
STEPS

64. VARIABLES

65. Variables Identifying and
controlling variables involve the
process of deciding which
variables or factors will
influence the outcome of an
experiment, situation or event
and deliberately control all
recognized variables in a
systematic manner.

66. Variables in an experiment may be
independent or dependent. The
variable that is being manipulated
or controlled is called independent
variable. The dependent variable
changes because of a test. It is the
effect that arises from the changes
in the independent variable

67. We made a prediction that ice will melt faster in
juice than in water, and now we must test our
hypothesis. We set up an experiment with a
glass of juice, a glass of water and an ice cube
for each. For the best experiments, only one
thing should change! Here, we are changing the
type of liquid we use but keeping the ice cube,
the temperature, and measurements of the
liquid the same.
4. CONDUCT AN
EXPERIMENT OR TEST THE
HYPOTHESIS

68. If too many factors change at once,
you cannot accurately state what the
results are. The liquids should be
roughly the same temperature (as
close as possible) and measured to
the same amount, so we left them
out to come to room temperature.
This could also be tested right out of
the fridge! Set up a stopwatch or set
a time limit to observe the changes!

69. Make sure to record what is
happening as well as the results. Note
changes at specific time intervals or
after one set time interval. When each
ice cube is completely melted, add
drawings if you wish at the end
results. Was your prediction accurate?
If it is not accurate, state the
reason/s.
5. RECORD AND ANALYZE
THE RESULTS

70. This is the opportunity to
talk about your
hypothesis, your
experiment, your results,
and your conclusion which
is the final answer to your
problem or experiment!
6. DRAW CONCLUSIONS

75. POST TEST

76. Content, images, text, etc. used belong
to the rightful owner. No copyright
infringement intended.