Science With Mr. Milstid

A common misperception of science is that it defines “truth”. 
Science is not truth, but rather it is a way of thought. 
It is the effort to discover, understand, or to understand better, how the physical world works, with observable physical evidence as the basis of that understanding.
It is a process by which experimentation is used to answer questions.

This process of experimentation is called the scientific method and involves several steps:

1. Ask a Question/State the Problem: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?
   In order for the scientific method to answer the question it must be about something that you can measure, preferably with a number.
2. Do Background Research & Gather Information: Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don’t repeat mistakes from the past.
3. Construct a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work:
   “If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen.“
   You must state your hypothesis in a way that you can easily measure, and of course, your hypothesis should be constructed in a way to help you answer your original question.
   
   Example Hypotheses
   
   • “If I open the faucet then it will increase the flow of water.”
   • “Raising the temperature of a cup of water will increase the amount of sugar that dissolves.”
   • “If a plant receives fertilizer, then it will grow to be bigger than a plant that does not receive fertilizer.”

    

4. Perform an Experiment & Test the Hypothesis: Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false.
   It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same. You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren’t just an accident.
5. Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion: Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false. Scientists often find that their hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test it again in a new way.
6. Communicate Your Results: This is essentially a final report, which is often published in a scientific journal or by presentation.

Variables in Experiments:
The changing quantities in an experiment are called variables.
A variable is any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types.

An experiment usually has three kinds of variables: independent, dependent, and controlled.

The independent variable is the one that is changed by the scientist.
To insure a fair test, a good experiment has only one independent variable. As the scientist changes the independent variable, he or she observes what happens.

The scientist focuses his or her observations on the dependent variable to see how it responds to the change made to the independent variable. The new value of the dependent variable is caused by and depends on the value of the independent variable.

For example, if you open a faucet (the independent variable), the quantity of water flowing (dependent variable) changes in response–you observe that the water flow increases. The number of dependent variables in an experiment varies, but there is often more than one.

Experiments also have controlled variables.
Controlled variables are quantities that a scientist wants to remain constant, and he must observe them as carefully as the dependent variables.

For example, if we want to measure how much water flow increases when we open a faucet, it is important to make sure that the water pressure (the controlled variable) is held constant.

Historical Example of the Scientific Method in Action

Tags: Scientific Inquiry, Scientific Method
Posted in Biological Science, Earth Science, Physics & Physical Science