The Scientific MethodWhat scientists do and why they do it that way

Definition The way scientists use experiments to

answer questions.

Memory cue Mnemonic sentence, each word reminds of

one step “Quentin rides horses, elephants and

camels.”

The 6 Steps Quentin Question Rides Research Horses Hypothesis Elephants Experiment And Analysis Camels Conclusion

Your foldable Each flap will be one of

the six steps. Write the step and its

word from our sentence at the bottom of the flap.

We will write information above the labels on each flap. Leave space!

Question Quentin

Research rides

Hypothesis horses

Experiment elephants

Analysis and

Conclusion camels

Question The question should be

something you can measure

how, where, when, why, …

Should be something you can measurehow, where, when, why,…

Question Quentin

Research rides

Hypothesis horses

Experiment elephants

Analysis and

Conclusion camels

Research Collect

information from books, magazines, internet, anywhere with reliable information

Collect information from books, magazines, internet, anywhere with reliable informationResearch rides

Hypothesis horses

Experiment elephants

Analysis and

Conclusion camels

Hypothesis An educated guess

supported by your research

Includes your prediction, what conditions you set and a reason

“I think __________ will happen if I do _________ because __________.”

Question Quentin

An educated guess supported by your researchIncludes your prediction, what conditions you set and a reason“I think __________ will happen if I do _________ because __________.”

Hypothesis horses

Experiment elephants

Analysis and

Conclusion camels

Research rides

Experiment Can only change 1

thing Record data Need to run

experiment at least 3 times

Question Quentin

Research rides

Can only change 1 thingRecord dataNeed to run experiment at least 3 times

Experiment elephants

Analysis and

Conclusion camels

Hypothesis horses

Analysis Use graphs,

charts, tables to show your data and any patterns

Include units, labels and titles

Question Quentin

Research rides

Hypothesis horses

Use graphs, charts, tables to show your data and any patternsInclude units, labels and titles

Analysis and

Conclusion camels

Experiment elephants

Conclusion Was your

hypothesis right or not?

What data support that conclusion?

Suggest improvements to design of experiment

Question Quentin

Research rides

Hypothesis horses

Experiment elephants

Was your hypothesis right or not?What data support that conclusion?Suggest improvements to design of experiment

Conclusion camels

Analysis and

What was our sentence?Quentin rides horses, elephants and camels.

What are the steps of which it reminds us?

Question, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis and Conclusion

Variables

Definition Variable means changeable.

Math has letters for variables that stand for a number. The letter can change and represent a different number in another problem. V= l x w x h

A variable speed fan can be set at different speeds.

A variable timer can be set to come on at different times or for different durations.

Types of variablesIndependent

You choose The only thing that you change in your experiment The cause of all the results

Control group The group you

don’t change Used to compare

groups to find out if the variable works better

Dependent Depends on the

independent variable

How the results change

The effect Usually is what

you measure

Example of Variable TypesIf you are experimenting to test two fertilizer brands, A and B, you

would have at least 9 plants. Three would be in the group using fertilizer A (because you need to do it three times), three plants would be in the fertilizer B group, and three would not get any fertilizer.

The independent variable is which fertilizer goes on the plants. You pick which plants get A, which get B and which get none.

The dependent variable is how well the plants grow. It depends on how well the fertilizer works.

The control group is the group that doesn’t get any fertilizer. You can compare these to groups A and B to see if the fertilizers helped at all or if the fertilizer was just a waste of money.

Remember only the fertilizer should be different. All the plants should get the same amount of light, water, soil,….