Flocabulary scientific method free download

All great scientists have to start somewhere. If you’re ready to conduct a science experiment of your own, there’s an agreed upon set of rules you have to follow. Those steps are called the scientific method, and they were developed by multiple scientists over time.

You can trace the history of the scientific method back to Aristotle. A Greek philosopher born in 384 B.C.E., he helped early scientists develop methods for testing their ideas. He recommended that scientists first study what other people had already discovered about a given topic and reach a conclusion based on that evidence, a concept that we still use today as part of the experimentation process. Another early Islamic scholar, Ibn al-Haytham, developed a method very similar to the modern version we use today: he encouraged scientists to question everything, then find ways to get those answers through experiments.

That said, historians tend to attribute the origin of the scientific method as we understand it today to the Renaissance period. Scientists like Sir Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, and Sir Isaac Newton really solidified the steps required to successfully conduct an experiment. Here are the steps you should follow if you’re conducting a science experiment for yourself:

1. Ask your question

Your question should be one that can be answered via an experiment. For example, you could ask, “What material is best for plant growth?” This is a testable question, because you can put different seeds in different materials and measure your results. However, you could not ask, “Is ice cream tastier than pie?” This question can’t be measured, because any person could have his or her own opinion, and it can’t be definitively proven right or wrong.

2.Form your hypothesis.

This should be an educated guess about what you think the results of the experiment will be.

In order to inform your guess, you should do initial research on your topic of interest. See what other scientists have said about experiments similar to yours, or read what experts have written on the subject. If, for example, you’re conducting an experiment on our earlier questions about plants, your hypothesis might be that plants grow best in soil, based on other studies you’ve researched.

3.Gather your materials.

Before you can actually start your experiment, you need to collect all of the necessary materials. Depending on the question you’re trying to answer, these materials can be found around your house or at a nearby store. It might seem like a given, but if you start your experiment before you have everything you need, you might risk impacting the results.

4.Conduct your experiment

This is when you get to come up with a way to test your question and hypothesis. In the case of our current question and hypothesis about plant growth, you could begin your experiment by setting up a number of small pots. Each pot could have a different material in it, like soil, rocks, paper, fabric, or cotton balls. In order to see which material helps plants grow, you should keep the amount of sunlight and water each plant receives the same. You should also make sure you’re planting the same type of seed in each pot.

In experiments like these, you’re altering the independent variables (e.g. the growing material) in order to measure the impact you have on the dependent variables (e.g. plant height or overall health).

You also need to ensure consistency across certain aspects of your experiment to truly test your hypothesis. These consistent aspects are known as control variables, and in this example include such details as seed type and the amount of water and sunlight each plant receives.

5.Analyze your results.

As you’re testing your hypothesis, you need to keep track of any results that come of the experiment; this is your data, and it will serve as the factual basis and support for your conclusion later on. Make sure to record any and all data changes that you observe. You should be as accurate as possible in your measurements, including making note of things like the time of day you observed the data, or if your hand may have slipped while measuring something.

Once you’ve recorded your data throughout the experiment, it’s time to compare the results across all test groups. It’s helpful to consider your initial question and take all variables into account.

6.Draw your conclusion.

Now that you have successfully conducted your experiment, it’s time to determine whether or not your hypothesis was accurate. This part of the scientific method should be a solution to the original problem, or an answer to your question.

7.Communicate your results.

Scientists must be able to tell others about the results of their work, otherwise no one would ever have enough shared information, and we’d each have to do every experiment on our own. Your results and conclusion can be shared in the form of a research paper or report, or even on a display board with visual examples of your experiment. You can provide photos from your test groups, charts that show changes in data throughout the experiment or any other examples of proof from your experiment.

If your conclusion doesn’t match your hypothesis, you can always use your data as background research for your next experiment!

Looking for experiment ideas to get you started? Try coming up with a testable question that this compass experiment or this color-changing milk experiment could solve. Once you’re ready to conduct an experiment of your own, take this printable checklist with you to make sure you hit all the right steps!

Sources:

Martyn Shuttleworth, “History of the Scientific Method,” Explorable,
https://explorable.com/history-of-the-scientific-method

“Steps of the Scientific Method,” Science Buddies,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/steps-of-the-scientific-method

“Think Like A Scientist: Teaching the Scientific Method to Kids,” Science Explorers,
https://scienceexplorers.com/teaching-scientific-method-kids/

“The Scientific Method in Everyday Life,” Flocabulary,
https://www.flocabulary.com/lesson-scientific-method/