Scientific Method Notes

1. Scientific Method
***only write things in black

3. What is the Scientific Method?
• Scientific Method—the scientific process of
investigating, testing, and answering things
about our natural world.

5. Steps of the Scientific Method
• Observation—make an observation about the
world (use 5 senses).
• “The Mcdonalds next to my house gives a lot of
fries.”

6. Steps of the Scientific Method
• Question—Ask a question based on your
observation that you can test.
• “Does the McDonalds next to my house give more
fries than other McDonalds?”

7. Steps of the Scientific Method
• Hypothesis—an educated explanation to
answer your question (If… then).
• “If I weighed the fries given at the McDonalds next
to my house, then it will weigh more than the fries
at other McDonalds. ”

8. Steps of the Scientific Method
• Experiment—come up with procedures (steps)
and test the hypothesis.
1. Buy medium fries at McDonalds next to my house.
2. Go to 4 other locations and order the medium fries.
3. Using a scale, weigh each order
of fries.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the next
4 days

9. Steps of the Scientific Method
• Collect Data—recording the information you
get from your tests.
McDonalds
next to house
McDonalds
#2
McDonalds
#3
McDonalds
#4
McDonalds
#5
Day 1 20.9 g 19.2 g 18.2 g 22.3 g 19.4 g
Day 2 21.2 g 20.1 g 18.4 g 20.1 g 19.2 g
Day 3 20.8 g 21.9 g 19.2 g 18.8 g 19.1 g
Day 4 18.4 g 19.0 g 22.5 g 20.5 g 21.2 g
Day 5 20.8 g 18.1 g 19.6 g 21.4 g 19.2 g
Average 20.2 g 19.2 g 18.9 g 21.2 g 19.8 g

10. Steps of the Scientific Method
• Analyze Data—sorting data, graphing it, and
making meaning out of it.

11. Steps of the Scientific Method
• Conclusion—explain results and compare to
hypothesis. Consider errors and retest.
• According to the data and graph, the McDonalds at
location #4 gave the most
fries on average. Therefore, my
hypothesis is incorrect.