Inquiring Minds

The goals for today’s lesson are . . .

To demonstrate understanding of the process of scientific inquiry,

To recognize that science uses a process as a means of learning about the natural world

To identify the major components of the process by which scientists learn about the world

To appreciate that experiments help scientists test prediction.

The Inquiry Cycle

What is science?

How do scientists go about their work of investigating things?

Brainstorm for ideas! (Answers will be written on chart paper.)

According to noted biologist John A. Moore, science is a way of knowing. More than a collection of facts, science is a process by which scientists learn about the world and solve problems.

Scientists, of course, have many facts at their disposal, but how these facts are stored, retrieved, and applied is what distinguishes science from other ways of knowing.

Here is a funny story that illustrates how scientists try to understand and explain how the natural world works - with observable physical evidence as the basis of those understandings.

A school teacher a carpenter, and a scientist were traveling by train through Scotland.

As they were looking out the window, they saw a black sheep in a field.

“Aha,” said the carpenter with a smile, “I see that Scottish sheep are black.”

“Hmm,” said the school teacher, “You mean that some Scottish sheep are black.”

“No,” said the scientist confidently, “All we know is that there is at least one sheep in Scotland and that at least one side of that one sheep is black.”

Whole Group Discussion: Based on the evidence - the one black sheep - whose hypothesis is correct? Why?

The following activity is designed to help you learn how observable evidence can be used to solve problems and develop understandings.

• To begin, you will number off into groups of four members.

• Each group of four will sit at a table. At your table you will find a “Mystery Cube” with one side facing down.

•YOU ARE NOT TO TOUCH THE “MYSTERY CUBE.”

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• Each teammate is responsible for observing only the side of the “Mystery Cube” that faces him or her. There will be no moving about!

• Your task is to determine - based on evidence - what is on the hidden side of your cube? Remember: Observations can only be about what each student sees on his or her side of the cube.

• First: In your groups, you will begin the investigation of the “Mystery Cube” by developing one or two questions about the cube. A recorder will write the group’s questions on a data sheet. No answers are to be given at this point.

• After a few minutes, the recorders will share their questions with the whole group.

Small Group Collaboration:

Make some observations about the cube that might lead your team to discover what is on the hidden side. A recorder will take notes on the collaboration by listing all of the observations and record the group’s answer to the question, “What is on the hidden side of the cube?”

Whole Group Sharing:

After a few minutes, each group will share its observations and discuss how they reached their conclusions.

Whole Group Brainstorming:

1. What do we mean by the word “evidence”?

2. How is an explanation based on evidence different from other explanations?

Whole Group Discussion:

How is the investigation of the “Mystery Cube” similar to a scientific investigation?

Assessment: Completed “Thinking about Inquiry” response chart.

Debrief/Conclusions:

The process that scientists use to learn about the natural world is characterized by

asking questions that can be answered through investigations,

designing and carrying out scientific investigations,

thinking logically to make relationships between evidence and explanations, and

communicating procedures and explanations.

An evidence-based explanation supplies a reason for the explanation. The reason should be objective and shouldn’t reflect a personal preference. Evidence provided by one source can be verified by another source.