Name______________________________________________ Date________________ Block 4

Scientific Method
What does inquiry mean?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

The process of inquiry and investigation that researchers use to gain knowledge is the
________________________________________________________

The 6 steps of the scientific method:

 1. Ask a testable ___________________ and do background _______________________.

 2. Suggest reasonable ___________________________ for identified problems

 3. Develop a ______________________ for solving scientific problems.

 4. Collect, organize and record appropriate __________.

 5. ___________________________ compare and analyze data

 6. Develop reasonable _________________________________ based on data collected.

 7. _____________________________ whether conclusions are reasonable by reviewing the process

and checking against other available information.

Step 2: HYPOTHESIS
What is a hypothesis? __________________________________________________________________________________

What is the goal of every experiment?________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3: PROCEDURE (Also known as _______________________________________)

Think: Why must there be an experimental group AND a control group in an experiment? Be sure to explain
what an experimental group is and what a control group is.
What is a variable? ____________________________________________________________________________________

__________________ Variable aka _____________________ QUICK CHECK!!!

What is the difference between an independent
Definition: variable and a dependent variable?

Examples:

Dependent Variable (The _________________________)

Definition:

Examples:

Step 4: COLLECT DATA

Quantitative Data: ___________________________________________Ex:_________________________

Qualitative Data: _____________________________________________Ex:__________________________

 Observation:_________________________________________________________

 Inference:___________________________________________________________

Step 5: GRAPHICALLY COMPARE DATA

Independent on ________________
Dependent on __________________

Step 6: CONCLUSION
What did your experiment tell you?

Step 7: EVALUATE
The experiment has to be carefully constructed so that other scientists can __________________________
it to test its validity and _____________________________________________

And now you’re ready to be a scientist!