What is the scientific method?
 •It is a strategy to answer a question or find 
  information
 •Doesn’t have to be followed the same every 
  time or for every experiment
 •Always involves following steps in an order
     It doesn’t make any sense to come to a conclusion 
    without having done any observing first
 •Following steps allows you to find your answer 
  as quickly as possible without repeating 
  yourself 
 •Following steps also allows other people to 
  check your work if you discover something 
  amazing!
   What ARE the steps to use?
 •Observation- you see something
 •Ask a Question- Why? How?
 •Form a Hypothesis – Do some research.
 What could possibly explain your observation? 
 How could you test your explanation? 
 What do you expect to happen?
 •Collect Data- conduct an experiment,
 do more observing, measure
 •Organize your Data
 •Draw a Conclusion
  The Scientific Method
   Example 1:
 •Observation: There is a dog barking at a tree
 •Question: Why is the dog barking at the tree?
 •Hypothesis: I know dogs bark at strangers, and noises and other 
  animals. Maybe there is an animal in the tree. If I bring the dog to a 
  tree without an animal it shouldn’t bark. If I show the dog a tree WITH 
  an animal in it then it will bark.
 •Collect Data: I put a cat in one tree and nothing in the other, the 
  dog barked at the tree with the cat. The dog did not bark at the empty 
  tree.
 • Organize Data:
 •Draw a Conclusion: There must have been something in the 
  tree for the dog to bark at.
   Example 2:
 •Observation: My grades are better in my afternoon classes 
  than my morning classes
 •Question: Why are my grades better later?
 •Hypothesis: If I am tired in the morning than my grades will 
  be lower than in the afternoon.
 •Collect Data: My last quiz grades in period one were 68, 46 
  and 62. After going to bed early for two weeks my quiz grades 
  were 71 and 65. Quiz grades in period 9 were 71, 75 and 79. After 
  two weeks my quiz grades were 82, 75.