How do scientists solve problems It begins with

How do scientists solve problems ?

It begins with QUESTION Who - what - when - where why - how much - how can ? ? ?

Research comes next Look up information about the topic Where do you start? Ex. ?

Make a Hypothesis If I …. (What will you change? ) This is your independent variable. Then. . . (Predict what you will see). This is your dependent variable

Based on your research- design your experiment!! n Make sure it is something that can be tested!

Do the EXPERIMENT Follow the plan and test the conditions.

Make Observations Write what you see. Record numbers and measurements in CHARTS. This will become your data for analysis.

Compare Data n Construct graphs n Bar graphs n Line Graphs n Picture Graphs

Analyze Data n Explain HOW and WHY things happened in the experiment. n Is this Interpretation or Observation?

Make a CONCLUSION n Answer the original question. n Tell if hypothesis was proved correct. n If not, why not? n What have you learned?

Communicate and Confer n Have others obtained similar results ? n Precision Vs. Accuracy

At this point it may be useful to ask a new question and repeat the process. Ex. Peanut and Melvin?

What is a Controlled Experiment ? All parts of the experiment are kept the same except ONE thing that is changed.

The INDEPENDENT Variable Is the condition which we change in the experiment. It is what we are testing. This is the “If” part of our hypothesis

The DEPENDENT Variable Is what changes BECAUSE we changed the independent variable. It DEPENDS on the independent variable. This is the “then” part of our hypothesis

Variables and the Hypothesis If …. (tell what change will be made in the INDEPENDENT Variable) Then…. (PREDICT what changes will occur in the DEPENDENT Variable)

Variables and a CHART I n d e p Independent Variable Dependent Variable data

Variables and a graph D e p e n d e n t Independent Variable

Repeated experiments allow scientists to develop a THEORY - an idea that has been proved many times. A Theory is NOT an opinion!

A THEORY may be modified when new information is discovered. Scientific LAWS may not. They are unchanging ideas.