Transcript The way science works - Sonoma Valley High School

 Science
starts with a question
 Science a specific, methodical process of
answering a question
 Science can only answer questions about
things that can be observed & measured
 Science
starts with an observation
 Then a question is asked based upon the
observation
 Next a hypothesis is formulated
• Example: notice male birds are more brightly colored
than female birds
• Ask “why”
• Hypothesis: If females like bright males, then males
that are brighter will have more offspring, because
females choose them more often.
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Conduct an experiment to test the
hypothesis
Collect data
Analyze data
Make a conclusion
Share results

Test only one thing at a time: the
variable (what changes)
• Independent variable: what the researcher
controls (how much water a plant gets)
• Dependent variable: what changes as a
result of the experiment (how tall the plant
grows)
• Control variables: Keep as many things the
same as possible (anything that can affect
the results – sunlight, soil type, etc.)
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Have a large sample size
 Scientists
can collect two types of data
 Quantitative – factors that can be measured and
represented with numbers.
 Qualitative- factors that cannot be described
with numbers
Think: Look at the picture of
the plants. What is a
quantitative trait that you
could measured and a
qualitative trait that you could
described about these plants?
Law – What happens
Theory- Why & how it happens
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For example- The law of gravity says larger
objects pull smaller ones towards them.
Einstein’s theory of Space-time explains why
that happens.
 Mathematics
- the “language” of Science
 Models - used to represent things that
are too large, too complex, or too small to
study directly
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What are the first 2 steps in the scientific method?
What is the difference between a dependent and
independent variable?
What is the difference between a law and a theory?
What is the format for writing a hypothesis?