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Scientific Method

Scientific Method. Problem solving—science style. Vocabulary. Scientific method Controlled experiment Hypothesis Controlled variable Control Independent variable (manipulated variable) Dependent variable (dependent variable) Replication Accuracy Precision. Engage.

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Scientific Method

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  1. Scientific Method Problem solving—science style

  2. Vocabulary • Scientific method • Controlled experiment • Hypothesis • Controlled variable • Control • Independent variable (manipulated variable) • Dependent variable (dependent variable) • Replication • Accuracy • Precision

  3. Engage • Do you ever use the scientific method in “real” life? • Yes! • You just don’t think about it in steps the way scientists do. • Think of a problem you’ve had to solve in the past…

  4. Problem solving /Scientific method • Say you want to graduate…and you have more homework than you can get done and still hang-out, watch TV, etc… • How would you start trying to figure out how to do your homework (so you can pass and graduate), but still do the things you like to do? • Would you ask anyone for help with a solution? Would you ask yourself some questions?

  5. We’ve already done steps 1, 2 and 3… • Make observations. • Propose a question. • Do research…

  6. Your first observation might have been…I have homework and I want to do other stuff… • Your first question might have been…how can I reduce the amount of time I spend on homework. • The “research” in this case might have been… • I know that “Mallory” always gets her work done, but she still have time to have fun…so I’ll ask her what she does. • Science takes me the longest because I don’t “get it” and Ms. H has tutoring, so I could get her to help me after school. • I wait until after athletic practice to do my homework and then I’m really tired…do I have time to do it before practice…or can I get to school early and do it in the morning?

  7. The hypothesis…a TESTABLE possible solution. • So after finding out Mallory’s methods, Ms. H’s tutoring schedule, the “later” start time for athletics (4pm), and that you hate mornings so much that you can barely think 1st period…you come up with a hypothesis…

  8. Let’s say Mallory says that her “secret” is doing her homework right after school…usually in the teacher’s classroom that she needs the most help with if possible. Since that sounds easy enough…and you don’t have to be a practice until 4…you want to give it a try. Hypothesis: Doing my homework right after school will reduce how much time it takes my to finish.

  9. Now the last two… • Experiment and conclusions… • Your experiment would be to try your method and see if it worked. To make it “extra” scientific you could even time yourself each day. • The conclusions would be if you think it worked or not and why…if it didn’t the process starts over again!

  10. Scientific method • Definition: A set of steps used to solve problems or find answers to scientific questions. • Observations • Problem • Research • Hypothesis • Experiment • Conclusions

  11. Controlled experiment • An experiment where only one variable is changed at a time. • In the case before you would want to try doing homework right after school AND drinking a Monster everyday before starting your homework…because we wouldn’t know which thing (variable) was helping…or if one was “hurting” the effect of the other.

  12. Hypothesis • An explanation that is based on observations and research and can be tested.

  13. Controlled variable(s) • All of the variables in an experiment that stay constant. • In the case before, you would want to make sure that every day you did your homework in the same place, with the same amount of light, the same “everything”…

  14. Control • A group that serves as a standard of comparison with the experimental group or groups. • In other words, the “normal” conditions. • So in your experiment you could time yourself doing homework for one week before you started your experiment…that week would be the control!

  15. Independent (Manipulated) Variable • The factor that is deliberately manipulated in an experiment. • In our case…the time you do your homework. • When graphing…plotted on the x-axis.

  16. Dependent (Responding) Variable • The factor that is changed by or determined by the independent (manipulated) variable. • The time it takes you to do your homework. • When graphing…plotted on the y-axis

  17. Replication • Repeating an experiment multiple times or using a group instead of an individual to gather more data. • Replicating makes results MORE valid. • If you only tried doing your homework after school one day…and you had a cold that day…would your results really be valid?

  18. Accuracy vs Precision • Accuracy-how close a measurement is the the true value. • Precision-how repeatable a measurement is…how often or how close you come to the same value every time.

  19. Accuracy vs Precision

  20. Better precision…better data Less precise More precise

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