What is the Scientific Method?
What do teachers always tell to include in a science
experiment? They tell stuff like the purpose, hypothesis, materials,
procedure, etc. These are all parts of the scientific method. The
scientific method is learning science through observation and
experimentation. Before the invention of the scientific method, people
used to make guesses, could not prove or disprove any thing, and had
vague theories. The scientific method changed all that. That is why all
these inventions are here.
The
first step in
the scientific method is to ask a question
that you will do the experiment to solve. The next step is to gather
information, which you will use to make a hypothesis. You predict what
will happen in the results. Next, you do the experiment, gather data,
etc. After that, you draw a conclusion out of all your work, in which
you answer your question and find out if your hypothesis is correct.
Lastly, you report the results so that other people may verify your
results as well as get the knowledge that you learned during the whole
experiment.
The
difference between a hypothesis and a thesis is that a
hypothesis is a possible explanation to an event or a possible solution
to a problem. It is based on information gathered and is done before
conducting an experiment. A thesis on the other hand is an explanation
of an event or a solution to a problem formed after many repeated
carefully controlled experiments' results are examined.
You
are a Scientist!
The
scientific method is the way
scientists learn and study the world around them. It can be used to
study anything from a leaf to a dog to the entire Universe.
Question
Start with a
simple question, on a topic that interests you.
Research
Look in an
encyclopedia, a dictionary, trusted web sites to
gather more
information.
Hypothesis
An educated
guess or prediction of what you think will
happen. There is
no right or wrong answer. It is what you think is the
answer to the question.
Experiment
This is the
actual experiment that you will conduct. It is
when you use
your materials and procedure including your constants (control) and
variable. This is what we call a "controlled experiment."
Observe
Collect your information (also
called data) you have collected. Keep
track of your variable, using pictures, notes, graphs etc.
onclusion
Look at your data. Answer some
questions.
*
Was your hypothesis correct? If not, why do you think it was
not?
*
What would you do differently next time?
*
If your Hypothesis was not correct, don’t worry about it! This
means you are learning something new. Many scientists think one
thing but after experimenting discover something brand new!
Here are
some websites to help you...
Science Fair Help and Project Ideas at My Science Site.com
Discovery School
Science Fair Central
