Scientific Method PDF

SCIENTIFIC METHOD  Scientific Method - a sequence of steps used by scientists to test hypothesis and differentiate truth from myths and superstitions, or to simply validate informations. The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore...

SCIENTIFIC METHOD  Scientific Method - a sequence of steps used by scientists to test hypothesis and differentiate truth from myths and superstitions, or to simply validate informations. The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions. a systematic way of generating information based on keen observation, persistent experimentation, and intuitive inferences. It is a systematic and orderly approach to gather informations, data, and solving problems It involves: observations, identification of the problem, gathering related information, formulating hypothesis, designing and performing experiments, recording and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions.  The Steps : Scientific Method 1. OBSERVE 4. TEST 1. - design an experiment, gather the -identifying the problem, materials needed. - ask a question about -identify the treatment that you will something that you observe: implement to be able to compare your results 2. How, What, When, Who, with a reference point. Which, Why, or Where? - observe and record all the details that will 3. happen when one variable is manipulated 2. RESEARCH 5. ANALYZE 4. -investigate and collect -involves organizing and presenting data information related to your in tables or graphs. problem. -visualizing the results will help you understand what the data and findings imply. 3. HYPOTHESIZE 6. CONCLUDE - an educated guess about how things work about the factors that -based on your findings and interpretations of affect your problem. the data draw conclusion if they agree with 5&6 your hypothesis. -an attempt to answer your question with an explanation that can be - if the conclusion support the hypothesis tested. A good hypothesis allows you accept the hypothesis and provide to then make a prediction: recommendations for further study. Null (Ho): written in negative -if the conclusion refutes the hypothesis reject the hypothesis and accept the its counterpart Alternative (H1): written in affirmative hypothesis.  1. OBSERVE - identifying the problem, - ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where? These are examples of questions: How does water purity affect surface tension? When is the best time to sleep? Which drinks is good for adu ? How does arch curvature affect load carrying strength? How do different foundations stand up to earthquakes? What is the favorite subject of grade 6? In defining your problem, think about these questions 1. What do I want to know? 2. What do I expect to find out through the investigation?  2. RESEARCH - investigate and collect information related to your problem. - You can also review existing records or data or consult experts who have worked on a similar problem. - Doing research is a valuable tool in making smart decisions. examples: If your problem pertains to a particular community, you can interview officials or authorities of the area. Research through, interviews, books, online media/resources etc.  This step will make you become knowledgeable about the problem. Reflect these questions. 01 WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT THE 02 WHAT INFORMATION/DATA DO I NEED TO FIND ANSWER OR PROBLEM? SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM? 03 WHERE DO I GET INFORMATION/DATA (books, articles, journals, internet)?  3. HYPOTHESIZE - HYPOTHESIS is an educated guess about how things work about the factors that affect your problem. - an attempt to answer your question with an explanation that can be tested. A good hypothesis allows you to then make a prediction - Hypothesis is a tentative explanation of a set of observations. - Sometimes the statement uses “IF”.....”THEN”... format which can be tested. Two types of Hypothesis NULL : a hypothesis that states that there is no relationship between two population parameters, written in negative terms. Example: 1. Earthworms do not help improve the quality of soil. 2. There is no significant difference on the germination of seeds when it is exposed to sunlight. ALTERNATIVE : a statement that suggests a correlation or there is a relationship between variables in a study, written in affirmative terms. Example: 1. Earthworms help improve the quality of soil. 2. There is a significant difference on the germination of seeds when it is exposed to sunlight.  Qualities of a Good Hypothesis A. Observable B. Measurable C. Testable - a good hypothesis should be one that can be subjected - a hypothesis should be to experimentation. observable. - a hypothesis should have - since hypothesis is just a conditions that are easily calculated guess to answer measured. a scientific problem, there is - it should contain an outcome that can be observed and recorded no such thing as right or example: wrong hypothesis. example: If the temperature of water - Experiments are made to either support or not the affects the amount of sugar If fertilizer affect the growth hypothesis. that is dissolved, then of plants,then adding fertilizer - if it is supported, then one increasing the temperature of to the soil will make the plant either repeats experiments water will cause an increase grow taller than the plants or changes the in the amount of sugar without fertilizer. hypothesis/redo. dissolved.  4. TEST - design an experiment, gather the materials needed and follow the step-by-step procedure that you will use to test your hypothesis. - identify the treatment (treatment is any independent variable manipulated by the experimenters) that you will implement to be able to compare your results with a reference point. Example: a medical doctor can prescribe three different types of drugs to three different groups of patients respectively to see the effectiveness of each drug. - observe and record all the details that will happen when one variable is manipulated NOTE: You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren't just an accident.  This steps involves making a specific plan on how to conduct the experiment/research and how to collect the data. The following questions will guide you preparing the design: 1. HOW WILL I TEST MY HYPOTHESIS? 4. WHAT MATERIALS DO I NEED? 2. WHAT DATA DO I NEED TO COLLECT? 5. DO I NEED A CONTROL TO COMPARE THE DATA? 3. HOW WILL I COLLECT THE DATA? 6. HOW WILL I PLAN MY TIME? 7. HOW MANY SAMPLES AND TESTS DO I NEED?  5. ANALYZE -involves organizing and presenting data in tables or graphs. -visualizing the results will help you understand what the data and findings imply. Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if they support your hypothesis or not.  Be sure you write down all your observations (qualitative and quantitative) 01 HOW WILL I ORGANIZE AND 02 WILL I USE GRAPHS, TABLES, SUMMARIZE THE DATA? OR CHARTS? 03 CAN I SEE PATTERNS OR RELATIONSHIP IN MY DATA?  6. CONCLUDE - based on your findings and interpretations of the data draw conclusion if they agree with your hypothesis. - if the conclusion support the hypothesis accept the hypothesis and provide recommendations for further study. Share the difficulties you encountered in the source of your study and what you will do differently and how. -if the conclusion refutes the hypothesis reject the hypothesis and accept the its counterpart hypothesis, then recommend other ways of solving the problem.  This step summarizes the results of the experiment and explains how the results match with the hypothesis. 01 DO MY RESULTS ANSWER MY 02 ARE MY FINDINGS USEFUL TO ORIGINAL QUESTIONS? OTHERS? 03 HOW DO MY RESULTS COMPARE TO WHAT I HAD EXPECTED TO HAPPEN? (refer to your hypothesis) Note: Suppose your results do not match your hypothesis, do not change the hypothesis. Try to find out why the hypothesis and experimental results do not match. Ask yourself the following questions: 1. Why did my experiment turn this way? 2. What do I recommend to future researchers to improve their investigation?  Communicate Result - To complete your science activity, you will communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board. Professional scientists do almost exactly the same thing by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster or during a talk at a scientific meeting. IDENTIFYING VARIABLES VARIABLES CONTROLLED DEPENDENT INDEPENDENT - kept constant or treated the - responding variable or the effect - being changed and manipulated same or the cause. Example Example Example size of dishes used, number of Plant height light mungo, amount of water  INDEPENDENT & DEPENDENT VARIABLE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE Variable that is to be observed or measured due to Variable that is change changes that may result in the experiment the cause the effect The Independent variable is a type of variable used The dependent variable is a type of variable used in in experimental sciences, statistical modeling, and experimental sciences, statistical modeling, and mathematical modeling which doesn’t depend on mathematical modeling which depends on any any other variables in the scope of the experiment. other variables in the scope of the experiment. also termed as “explanatory variables,” also termed as “measured variable,” the “manipulated variables,” or “controlled variables.” “responding variable,” or the “explained variable”. The changes in the dependent variables are The changes in the independent variables are brought about by the changes in the independent brought about by the experimenter. variables. An important aspects of a scientific experiments is the use of: An important aspects of a scientific experiments is the use of: CONTROL GROUP - serves as the standard for comparison - this group has the same conditions as the other group in an experiment, except for the inclusion of the variable to be manipulated. EXPERIMENTAL GROUP- also known as a treatment group, receives the treatment whose effect researchers wish to study  Do all scientists follow the scientific method exactly? No. Some areas of science can be more easily tested than others. For example: scientists studying how stars change as they age or how dinosaurs digested their food cannot fast-forward a star's life by a million years or run medical exams on feeding dinosaurs to test their hypotheses. When direct experimentation is not possible, scientists modify the scientific method. But even when modified, the goal (and many of the steps) remains the same: to discover cause and effect relationships by asking questions, carefully gathering and examining the evidence, and seeing if all the available information can be combined into a logical answer. New information or thinking might also cause a scientist to backup and repeat steps at any point during the process. Understanding the steps of the scientific method will help you focus your scientific question and work through your observations and data to answer the question as well as possible. Who Invented the Scientific Method? Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) - is generally considered the father of the scientific method, but Bacon was preceded by over a thousand years of thinkers who formulated the ideas that inspired him. Aristotle pioneered scientific method in ancient Greece  Take Note: - When consistent results are obtained from a large number of repeated experiments, then they hypothesis hypothesis becomes a theory. Theory is a statement based on observations, research, and experimentation using factual evidences or data. Consistent Theory is also defined as a synthesis of a large body of result informations to help us understand occurrences by Regardless who the explaining phenomena. researcher/experi- menter is It is formulated to explain the “how or the why” of an observed occurrence or phenomenon. THEORY Theories are proposed when repeated experimentations lead to consistent results.  6th Grade OBSERVATION, INFERENCE, and CONCLUSION Example # 1: Question WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INFERENCE AND OBSERVATION? Reader's digest Difference Between Observation And Inference What is Observation Observation Inference - What one perceives using one or more of the five senses to gather information about an object or event. - based on evidence or sensory Interpretations or conclusions drawn Directly observable facts or data information and can be either from observations objective or subjective. Objective observations are based on facts that Based on evidence or Based on prior knowledge or can be independently verified, while sensory information logical reasoning subjective observations are based on personal opinions or interpretations. Not always verifiable or What is Inference Can be verified or falsified - refers to the process of using a falsifiable model to make predictions or draw conclusions from data. - Inference can also refer to the Can be objective or subjective Can be objective or subjective process of deducing information from observations or reasoning. - It is a suggestion, or an Jupiter is the biggest planet Saturn is composed of implication, one arrives at based of them all hydrogen and helium on an observation QUALITATIVE DATA VS QUANTITATIVE DATA  Example: The difference between quantitative and qualitative data Imagine you want to describe your best friend. What kind of data might you gather or use to paint a vivid picture? First, you might describe their physical attributes, such as their height, their hair style and color, what size feet they have, and how much they weigh. Then you might describe some of their most prominent personality traits. On top of that, you could describe how many siblings and pets they have, where they live, and how often they go swimming (their favorite hobby). Quantitative data: Qualitative data: - My best friend is 5 feet and 7 inches tall - My best friend has curly brown hair - They have size 6 feet - They have green eyes - They weigh 63 kilograms - My best friend is funny, loud, and a good listener - My best friend has one older sibling and two - They can also be quite impatient and impulsive younger siblings at times - They have two cats - My best friend drives a red car - My best friend lives twenty miles away from me - They have a very friendly face and a contagious - They go swimming four times a week laugh