Scientific investigation week 1 module

1. What is
science ????
• Science is the study of natural
events through observation and
experimentation resulting in an
organized body of knowledge.
• The knowledge obtained by
observing natural events and
conditions in order to discover
facts and formulate laws or
principles that can be verified or
tested.

2. THE SCIENTIFIC
METHOD

3. WHAT IS THE
SCIENTIFIC
METHOD?
The basic steps that scientists follow in
uncovering facts and solving scientific
problems ( a plan for solving a problem).
An organized plan for gathering, organizing
and communicating data
Six or Seven Steps - depends on source

4. STEPS
IN
SCIENTI
FIC
METHOD
1. Observation/Stating the Problem
2. Gathering Information on the Problem
3. Formulating a Hypothesis
4. Testing the Hypothesis/ Experiment
5. Recording and Analyzing Data
6. Stating a Conclusion
7. Communicate Results

5. STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE
PROBLEM
• Everything starts with an observation
• What you perceive with your senses
• Should be stated in the form of a question.
• The goal of the experiment should be to find the
answer to your questions (problem).
• Ask yourself: What is it you want to know?

6. Practice:
• Directions: Given the following
scenarios, give at least 2 or more
problems in each scenario.
1. Your light bulb won’t start.
2. You received a failing grade in
your test.
3. Your plants did not grow.

7. HOW CAN YOU
IDENTIFY THE
PROBLEM?
Qualitative: uses our 5 senses
• The termites follow a circle
made with a blue pen on
white paper
Quantitative: uses numbers
• 3 termites follow a circular
blue pen line that is 5 cm in
diameter

8. Let’s Check your
Understanding
• Determine which of the
following statements are
quantitative and which are
qualitative.
A. The cup had a mass of 454
grams.
B. It is warm outside.
C. The building has 25 stories.
D. The sidewalk is long.
E. The race was over quickly.

9. STEP 2: GATHER DATA
• Collect knowledge needed to know about the subject of
the experiment
WAYS TO GATHER DATA
• Make observations
• Use references to do background research
• Books
• Journals
• Magazines
• Internet
• TV
• Videos
• Interview Experts

10. How can you gather data?
Make Observations.
Any use of the senses to gather
information.
Qualitative Observations
Anything that you see, smell, touch,
taste, or hear.
Ex. Blue, bitter, fizzing sound.
Quantitative Observations
Any observation that can be
measured.
Must include a number.
Ex. 5 centimeters long

12. STEP 3: FORMULATE A
HYPOTHESIS
HYPOTHESIS- A prediction or statement that can be
tested through experimentation.
-an educated prediction to the answer of the
stated problem
MUST BE TESTABLE. Should attempt to solve your
problem.
“If… then… because” Statement
A good format for a hypothesis would be, “If we do XX, then
YY will happen.” Remember, the hypothesis should be
measurable so it can help you solve the problem identified
in step one.

13. Importance of a Testable Hypothesis
To devise and perform an experiment using the scientific method, you need to make sure that your
hypothesis is testable. To be considered testable, some essential criteria must be met:
1. There must be a possibility to prove that the hypothesis is true.
2. There must be a possibility to prove that the hypothesis is false.
3. The results of the hypothesis must be reproducible.
Without these criteria, the hypothesis and the results are not clear. As a result, the experiment will
not prove or disprove anything significant.

14. How to
Formulate an
Effective
Hypothesis
1. State the problem that you are trying to solve.
o Make sure that the hypothesis clearly defines the topic
and the focus of the experiment.
2. Try to write the hypothesis as an if-then statement.
o Follow this template: If a specific action is taken, then a
certain outcome is expected.
3. Define the variables
o In scientific experiments, a hypothesis proposes and
examines the relationship between an independent
variable and a dependent variable. The effect on the
dependent variable (the idea being tested) depends on
or is determined by what happens when you change the
independent variable (the factor being changed).

15. Practice!!
Example:
1. What happens to the growth of mongo
seeds if table salt was added to the soil?
2. Tomato seeds may grow faster in colder
temperature.
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.

16. Practice!!
1. What effect does high
temperature have on radish
germination?
2. What effect does studying with
music have on students test
scores.
3. Does giving chocolate to
teachers, decrease the amount of
homework?

17. STEP 4: TESTING YOUR HYPOTHESIS
• This is where you conduct an experiment
(a situation specially set up to observe
how something happens or to test your
hypothesis).
• Experiments should be performed the
same way each time and they should be
repeated to test for consistency and
accuracy.

18. How do you test a hypothesis?
• Use a Controlled Experiment
• An experiment that tests only one factor at a
time by using a comparison of a control
group and an experimental group.
• Control Group
• The group that the scientist changes
nothing in. The Control group is used for
comparison.
• Experimental Group
• The group that the scientist has changed
something. It is the variable in the
experiment where you want to see how this
condition affects something.

19. Variables are not
Changed in C.G.
One Variable Changed in
Each Exp. Group

20. What is a
variable?
• A variable is something
that can change, either
naturally or on purpose.
• Independent
Variables
• Dependent Variables

21. What are constants?
• They are what the scientist kept the same in both the
control group and the experimental group.

22. Two Types
of
Variables
Independent
• variables that are purposely
changed or manipulated in an
experiment
• the factor that you wish to test
• usually expressed after the word
“if” in the hypothesis
• could be thought of as the
“cause” in a cause and effect
relationship
Example
The activity level (resting, walking,
running)
Dependent
• variables that may change as a
result of the independent
variable
• the factor you measure to
gather results
• usually expressed after the
word “then” in the hypothesis
• could be thought of as the
“effect” in a cause and effect
relationship
Example
The person’s heart rate

23. Identify the Variables
1. If a student chooses to not study, then they will earn a
poor grade.
2. If you drink Gatorade before a soccer game, then you will
score more goals.
3. If you increase the mechanical advantage of a pulley
system used to move an object, then the input force
becomes less.
independent
variable
dependent
variable independent
variable
dependent
variable
independent
variable
dependent
variable

24. STEP 4: TESTING YOUR
HYPOTHESIS
• Includes variables - a quantity that is measured or changed during
the experiment.
• -Factors in the experiment that is being tested

25. STEP 4: TESTING YOUR HYPOTHESIS

26. Let’s
Practice!!

27. STEP 5: RECORDING AND ANALYZNG DATA
• Look over your results
• What do they mean?
• Construct charts, graphs,
averages, percentages,
etc.

28. How can you analyze results to
determine patterns?
• Record Data
• Write observations and
measurements
• Be consistent when you are
checking your experiments and
recording the results
• Create tables or charts (Data
Tables and Pie Charts)
• Create graphs from collected Data
(Line Graphs, Bar Graphs)
• Complete all necessary
mathematical calculations

29. STEP 6:
CONCLUSION

30. Step 7: Communicate the Results

31. WHY USE THE SCIENTIFIC
METHOD?
• A logical way to problem solve - in
all aspects of life.
• A way to share information that
can be proved or disproved.
• A way to find new information

32. Assessment
Directions: Now that you are finished accomplishing this module, let us check your understanding about the lesson presented in this module. Each
sentence below describes a step of the scientific method. Match each sentence with a step of the scientific method listed below. Write the letter of your
answers in your Science activity notebook.
A. Draw conclusions C. Recognize a problem
B. Form a hypothesis D. Test the hypothesis/ Experiment
_______ 1. RJ Lou grew mongo seeds in ten (10) pots. She divided the pots into two (2) groups, the five (5) pots exposed to sunlight and the rest five (5)
pots inside their house.
_______ 2. Krizha used a survey to determine how many of her classmates were left-handed and how many were right-handed.
_______ 3. Jose wanted to find out the effect of commercial fertilizer from organic fertilizer in the growth of tomato.
_______ 4. Vincent saw bats catching insects after dark. He asked, “How do bats find the insects in the dark?”
_______ 5. Mar wondered if dyes could be taken out of plant leaves, flowers, and stems.
_______ 6. Florence soaked six different kinds of seeds in water for 24 hours. Then she planted the seeds in soil at a depth of 1 cm. She used the same
amount of water, light, and heat for each kind of seed.
_______ 7. Celso read about growing plants in water. He wanted to determine how plants could grow without soil.
_______ 8. Jade said, “If I grow five seedlings under the sun, I think the plants will grow slower than the five plants grown inside the house.”
_______ 9. Maria’s experiment proved that earthworms move away from light.
_______ 10. Neil said, “If fertilizer affect the growth of pechay plant, it might affect the growth of cactus.”
_______ 11. If the temperature changes then the amount of bread mold will change.
_______ 12. Jaime wanted to find out the eating habits of dog.
_______ 13. Aldrin put different fertilizers on pechay plants to see what fertilizer allows the pechay plant to grow faster.
_______ 14. Plants placed in direct sunlight grow faster than plants which are kept with no sunlight.
_______ 15. Sarah wanted to find out if the amount of rain has an effect on the growth of cactus.