2. Life Structures and
Functions
G# 1
Scientific Method
Reflecting on knowledge is the application of
(S.RS.M.1)
scientific knowledge to new and different situations.
Reflecting on knowledge requires careful analysis of
evidence that guides decision-making and the
application of science throughout history and within
society.
GLCE #1: Demonstrate scientific concepts through various
(S.RS.07.15)
illustrations, performances, models, exhibits, and activities.
3. Learning Goals…student “I can…”
statements
G#1
I can read a flow chart, and use it to answer
questions
I can explain the steps of the scientific method in
the correct order
I can explain what steps in the scientific method you
follow when your hypothesis has been supported
I can explain what steps in the scientific method you
follow when your hypothesis has been refuted
I can explain the difference between a scientific law
and a scientific theory.
I can explain the similarities between a scientific law
and a scientific theory.
I can explain the importance of conducting a fair
test in an investigation
4. G#1 Vocabulary:
1) Scientific Method - Procedures used to solve problems and answer questions.
2) Hypothesis - Prediction that can be tested.
3) Control – Parts of the experiment kept the same in order to compare results.
4) Independent Variable / Manipulated Variable- The one change
that you make in the experiment.
5) Dependent Variable / Responding Variable- The data or evidence
that you are collecting, what you are recording.
6) Scientific Theory – Tested and agreed upon, explains several ideas and can be
tweaked.
7) Scientific Law – Tested and agreed upon, explains one idea and simple to state.
8) Fair Test - Performing an investigation a minimum of 3 times to make sure that the
outcome is reliable.
9) Refute – Data did NOT support the hypothesis.
6. SCIENTIFIC METHOD
What to think about when
designing an EXPERIMENT…
test
What is it that you want to _______??? Once
you have identified a problem break it down to
steps
a simple ______ or procedures
____________.
In order to determine an answer you need to
comparison
make a ___________.
7. SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Will my grade be higher by studying 10 minutes a
day or 1 hour once a week?
100
90
80
70
60 Study 10 min. per
50 day
40 Study 1 hr. per
30 week
20
10
0
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
8. SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Will the plant grow taller with white light or
green light?
Does eating a pop tart or an egg for
breakfast help me focus better at school?
You Try It! __________________
__________________________________
9. SCIENTIFIC METHOD
When making a comparison only one factor
changed
may be _________ between the two groups.
For example, the egg or the pop tart would be
the ONLY change made in your investigation.
same
Everything else must be kept the _______ in
order to compare your results.
10. SCIENTIFIC Controls
Controls
________ are parts of the experiment that are
kept the same in order to compare results of an
investigation. Controls help to insure you are
getting more reliable data. The more controls
_______
you have the more reliable your results!
Ultimately, you need to be able to identify the
factor that made the difference.
11. SCIENTIFIC METHOD
You Try It!
CONTROLS for Egg vs. pop tart investigation might
include:
Eaten at the same time
No other food or drink eaten
Focus checked at the same time each day
Same participants
12. What you Test
What you are planning to compare ends up being the
change
ONE _________ you make in your investigation. It is
Manipulated variable Independent
known as your ____________ ________ A.K.A
variable Variable
_______________ _________ or just simply the
_________.
--not to confuse you or anything
Remember MI Variable
13. Recording the Evidence
While performing your experiment you need to
data/evidence
collect __________________ in an organized table.
Responding variable
This data is also known as the _____________
_________ Dependent variable
A.K.A. the ____________ _________.
Just remember DR Data
14. Analyzing the Data
You use this data to create graph
a ______. Graphs
analyze
make it easier to _______ your results by
patterns connections
looking for ________ or ___________. Your
support
analysis will help you determine whether to
_______ or ______ your hypothesis.
refute
15. Place a check in the column that matches
the correct term.
Vocab Terms What you change Data you collect
Variable +
Manipulated Variable +
Responding Variable +
Dependent Variable +
Independent Variable
+
16. Steps of the Scientific Method…
State the Scientific Problem or Question —
This _____________ must be stated in a
problem/question
manner which allows it to be _____.
tested
You Try It!
BAD Example: Is the sky beautiful?
Why? The answer would be an opinion and
not testable.
17. Steps of the Scientific Method…
GOOD Example:
Did you write two things that you could
compare against each other?
Why?
Would you be able to test the problem or
question? If you said, “Yes” than it is a
good one!
18. Steps of the Scientific Method…
Gather Information — Requires the
scientist/investigator to use their previous
_________ and other information related
knowledge
to their problem or question to design an
appropriate _________ or ___________.
experiment investigation
19. Gathering information…
You Try It! What kind of information
might a pest control specialist want before
switching from her old pesticide “Pretty
Good Stuff” to the newest pesticide on the
market, “New and Improved Stuff”?
Are there any other tests done on the product
and what were their results? Does it harm the
environment? What claims does the maker
make?
20. Steps of the Scientific Method…
Form a Hypothesis — Use the information
gathered to make an ________ _________
educated prediction
of an outcome to your experiment or
investigation.
A hypothesis is a sentence stating the
outcome you expect to see in your results.
Example: Based on previous studies Tide
with Bleach will remove grass stains better
than Stains Be Gone.
21. Writing a hypothesis…
You Try It! Write a hypothesis using the
pest control specialist example.
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Based on the research, New and Improved
Stuff will kill off more pests than Pretty Good
Stuff.
22. Steps of the Scientific Method…
Perform an Experiment — Follow the steps
you designed to test your __________, make
hypothesis
___________, and collect ___________ in
observations evidence
the data table. Control all factors in the
experiment except for your
__________________________________.
Manipulated or Independent variable
Example:
Grass Stain Removal Trials
Stain Remover #1 #2 #3 #4
Stains B Gone Stain Removed Stain Stain
Tide w/Bleach Removed Removed Removed Removed
23. Steps of the Scientific Method…
(________) — Organize your
Analyze Data evidence
data into _______ or ________. This allows
graphs charts
you to see any _________or ____________
patterns connections
No visible patterns or connections would also
be important information for the scientist
when drawing conclusions.
25. Steps of the Scientific Method…
Draw Conclusions — Make a statement
based on the data you collected to
support
_________or _______ (____ _______)
refute not support
your hypothesis. ________ the hypothesis
Restate
and include whether data the _____
or not
supported or refuted it.
Conclusions should begin with one of the following
prompts:
According to the data…
1) ___________________________________________________
Based on the evidence…
2) ___________________________________________________
26. Drawing (writing ) a Conclusion…
You Try It! Write a conclusion based on
the grass stain removal experiment.
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Based on the evidence, New and Improved
Stuff did NOT kill off more pests than the Pretty
Good Stuff. Therefore, my original hypothesis
was refuted.
27. Supported Hypothesis…
The Final Steps — If the Hypothesis was
SUPPORTED based on your evidence you would
repeat
_______ your experiment at least ___ times in
3
fair test have a ________. This increases the
order to reliability
_________ of your results. Increasing the
trials
number of ________ will increase reliability.
28. Refuted hypothesis…
The Final Steps — If the Hypothesis was NOT
SUPPORTED based on your evidence you would use
the ______ information gathered in your
NEW
experiment to Form a _______ Hypothesis and
NEW
conduct a ______ investigation.
NEW
29. The Scientific Method
State the problem/question
Gather Information
Form a Hypothesis
Perform an Experiment
Use the
information gained Repeat SAME
to form a NEW Analyze Data
experiment at least TWO
Hypothesis. more times.
Draw a Conclusion
Refuted Supported
Hypothesis Hypothesis
30. Hypotheses, Scientific
Theories, Scientific Laws
These three terms are often confused with each
other. You should be able to identify the
similarities and differences between the three.
31. Hypotheses
A HYPOTHESIS is an _________ prediction that
educated
cantested
be ______. This prediction is based on
research collected about a topic question. A
hypothesis can be supported (proven correct) or
refuted (proven incorrect) based on the data
collected in an investigation or experiment.
32. Hypothesis
Example - Using Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove gum
from hair works better than peanut butter.
You are comparing Murphy’s Oil Soap to peanut
butter, a common remedy to gum in hair.
33. Hypotheses
Once a hypothesis has been _________ and
supported
agreed upon by the _________ community it MAY
scientific
become either a Scientific _______ or a
Theory
Scientific ______. Keep in mind, some hypothesis
Law
never make it to the testing stage!
34. Scientific Theories and Laws
A Scientific Theory and Scientific Law have the
following characteristics in common:
SIMILARITIES - Scientific Theories and Scientific Laws
BOTH begin with _______ and _________
tested supported
hypothesis
BOTH involve _________ topics
scientific
BOTH are accepted by _______
MANY
scientists/researchers over time.
35. Scientific Theories and Laws
Even though the ideas behind BOTH a Scientific
Theory and Law began with supported _________,
hypothesis
each has characteristics that make them
different from each other.
37. Differences between Scientific Theories and Scientific Laws
Theory
May have ________ parts to the
several
theory
Used to explain _____ ideas and
many
observations
Can be “________” as new
tweaked
information is found
Ex.- Continental _____ Theory
__________ Drift
The BIG ______ Theory
___ Bang
38. Scientific Theories
Ex. – Plate Tectonics Theory (the earth is covered in plates that move)
- Cell Theory (all living things are made from cells)
- Theory of Evolution (inherited traits change over time)
- String Theory (inside electrons and quarks are moving vibrating ‘strings’)
- Big Bang Theory (the universe expanded from an extremely dense and hot
state and continues to expand today)
- Atomic Theory (matter is composed of atoms)
- Theory of Biogenesis (life comes from life)
39. Differences between Scientific Theories and Scientific Laws
Law
_______ statements
Simple
States ______ big idea or action
ONE
Can be a _______
formula
Ex.- Law ofGravity
_______
Newton’s
_________ Laws of Motion
F=ma (Newton’s 2nd Law)
40. Scientific Laws
Ex. – Law of Reflection (Angle of incoming light equals angle of outgoing light)
– Newton’s three laws of motion (Law of Inertia, F=ma, For every
action there is an equal and opposite reaction Fab = -Fba)
- Newton’s law of universal gravitation (mathematically
describes the gravitational attraction between 2 bodies with mass) Fg = G m1m2/r2
- Law of conservation of matter (matter cannot be created or
destroyed)
- Law of conservation of energy (energy cannot be created or
destroyed)
- Kepler’s laws of planetary motion (the orbit of every planet is
an ellipse with the sun at a focus, law of equal area, planets distant from
the sun have longer orbital periods than close planets)
- E = mc2 (Energy = mass x speed of light2)
41. Let’s review…
Hypothesi
Theory Law
s
Is True + +
Has Been Proven Many Times + +
Has Been Proven By Many Different Scientists
+ +
A Simple Statement of Truth +
Scientists Are Still “Tweaking” Parts +
Hypothesis Is Always Supported
+ +
Can be proven to be incorrect + +
Can be a formula +
Explains numerous facts and observations +
More certain than hypotheses, but less certain
than laws +
42. Cell Theory
The cell theory is a widely accepted explanation of the
relationship between cells and living things. The cell theory
states:
All living things are composed of cells.
Cells are the basic unit of structure and function in living things.
Cells arise from pre-existing cells.
The cell theory holds true for all living things, no matter how big
or small, or how simple or complex. Since according to
research, cells are common to all living things, they can provide
information about all life. And because all cells come from other
cells, scientists can study cells to learn about growth,
reproduction, and all other functions that living things perform.
By learning about cells and how they function, you can learn
about all types of living things.
