Unit 1, Lesson 1.7 - The Scientific Method (Part One) Lesson Outline: 1. Throwback: Superstitions and Beliefs 2. The Scientific Method 3. Basic Steps of the Scientific Method

1. The Scientific
Method
Part One: Unit One, Lesson 2.1
By Margielene D. Judan

2. LESSON OUTLINE
 Throwback: Superstitions and Beliefs
 The Scientific Method
 Basic Steps of the Scientific Method

3. THROWBACK: Superstitions and Belief
Answer the following questions before we start the
lesson:
What are superstitions?
Give example of a superstition.
Do you believe in superstitions? Why or why not?

4. Examples of Superstitions (do not copy)
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day.
A rabbit’s foot brings good luck.
If you walk under a ladder, you will have a bad
luck.
Garlic protects from evil spirits and vampires.
Our fate is written in the stars

5. Examples of Superstitions (do not copy)
Eating fish makes you smart.
A cat has nine lives.
It is bad luck to sing and sleep on a table.
Goldfish in the pond brings good luck.
To drop a fork means a woman will visit.
To drop a spoon means a child will visit.

6. Superstitions are
beliefs, which
are not usually
explained using
the methods of
natural
sciences.

7. Superstitions cannot
be verified as 100%
true (though some
could be true like
the old hypothesis
of Copernicus that
the earth was
round) because it is
only based on
observation and
hypothesis.

8. A superstition flowchart

9. Q. Why is this not reliable?

10. A. Because it has not been tested true!

11. In order to be
classified as a fact,
it must be
observable, and
true at all times.
It must undergo a
process of
investigation. This is
the scientific
method.

12. Example 1: A cat has nine lives.
Is this a fact or not? Prove it.

13. Example 1: A cat has nine lives.
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH:
1. I shoot the cat with a gun on its
head. (Testing)
2. It died grossly! (Result)
3. Therefore, it has only one life!
(Conclusion)

14. It is a superstition! Fact must be true
and observable at all times.

15. Example 2: All Filipinos speak Tagalog.
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH:
1. Juan is born in Iloilo.
2. Therefore, he is a Filipino.
3. Juan knows only how to speak
Bisaya.
4. Therefore, not all Filipinos speak
Tagalog.

16. Example 2: All Filipinos speak
Tagalog.
Is this a fact or not? Prove it.

17. It’s not a fact! Though most Filipinos
speak Tagalog, not all do. A fact
must be true and observable at all
times, as said earlier.

18. As a student, you can explore the
world and solve everyday problems
using the scientific method.

19. THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
It is a systematic way of investigation in order to
solve a problem.

20. BASIC STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
1. State the problem or ask questions.
(Observation)
2. Form a hypothesis.
3. Test your hypothesis by experimentation.
4. Record and analyze data.
5. State a conclusion.
6. Report your findings.

21. The Scientific
Method Flowchart
(always use this
chart when making
scientific
investigations)

22. 1. State the problem or ask questions.
(Observation)
For this lesson, we’ll use this problem.
Problem/Observation:
Half of the class are sleeping during Science 7.

23. 2. Form a hypothesis.
A hypothesis is an educated guess or a simple
statement that presents the possible solution to
the problem.
Hypothesis:
Ma’am Judan guessed that maybe most of them
stayed up late last night by watching teleserye
and using Facebook.

24. 3. Test your hypothesis by
experimentation.
An experiment is a set of specific observations. It is
a test of your hypothesis.
Experimentation:
Upon going home, Ma’am Judan opened her
Facebook and saw most of her class still online by
12 midnight. She chatted with the class president
to know what most of her students are doing. The
president said they are staying up late at night to
watch “Pangako Sayo” and “The Buzz”.

25. 4. Record and analyze data.
Some forms of analyzing data:
1. Through a table
2. Using a chart or a diagram
For Ma’am Judan, her data is the chat message
which the class president sent to her:
“Ma’am Judan, nagpupuyat po sila para manuod ng
“Pangako Sayo” at “The Buzz”.”

26. 5. State your conclusion.
A conclusion is an answer to the problem. It must
support the hypothesis.
Conclusion:
Half of the class are sleeping during Science 7
because they sleep late at night to watch late-
night shows and chat endlessly with their
Facebook friends.

27. 6. Report your findings.
Finally, it will be good to have someone else look
at your findings to help you find any mistakes or
unusual results. This will help you improve the
procedure next time.
Remember that for an conclusion to be verified
true, it must be repeatable at all times when
performing the experiment.

28. What if your conclusion doesn’t support
your hypothesis?
Make a new hypothesis and perform a new
experiment until you arrive with the same
conclusion and hypothesis.

29. The Scientific
Method Flowchart
(always use this
chart when making
scientific
investigations)

30. Assignment: Copy the article and write
the answers on your notebook. If you
have internet access, just download
this power point at my Slideshare
account to see the questions.

31. Copy the questions first on a 1 whole
sheet of paper.
1.State the problem.
2.What was the hypothesis?
3.How was the hypothesis tested?
4.Should the hypothesis be supported or rejected
based on the experiment?
5.What should be the new hypothesis and how
would you test it?

32. The Strange Case of BeriBeri
In 1887 a strange nerve disease attacked the people in the
Dutch East Indies. The disease was beriberi. Symptoms of the
disease included weakness and loss of appetite, victims often
died of heart failure. Scientists thought the disease might be
caused by bacteria. They injected chickens with bacteria from
the blood of patients with beriberi. The injected chickens
became sick. However, so did a group of chickens that were not
injected with bacteria.
One of the scientists, Dr. Eijkman, noticed something. Before the
experiment, all the chickens had eaten whole-grain rice, but
during the experiment, the chickens were fed polished rice. Dr.
Eijkman researched this interesting case and found that polished
rice lacked thiamine, a vitamin necessary for good health.

33. Sources:
 Science Links 7
 http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheet
s/scientific_method_action_key.html