Scientific Method Exercise
Identify a situation in which you applied the scientific approach to solving a problem. Share your thinking! The problem you choose to write about can be very simple, such as: my flashlight won't work, or my car won't start, or I baked muffins and they were flat ( didn't rise properly) , or the toilet won't flush properly, or better yet, think of your own. These probably don't sound like "science" problems, but it is most likely that you would use the scientific method to solve them, without even realizing it. Avoid using people problems and child or pet behavior issues as your "problem." Follow these steps to create your first writing assignment:
1. Describe the situation and your observation,
2. Describe your hypothesis to explain the observation.
3. Describe your further observations or experiments to test the hypothesis. Be sure your hypothesis is one that can be tested. Consider what you might use for "controls".
4. Was the hypothesis correct? If not, can you find a better one? Or do you need a better experiment? If so, what would it be?
The assignment should be formatted as follows: Be sure to include the labels, so it is clear that you recognize and identify each step in the process.
Problem: (briefly describe your problem here)
Question: (This may be a "how" or "why" question that you will formulate a tentative answer to. Your tentative answer is your hypothesis.)
Hypothesis: (State the answer to your question above. This is your "best guess" regarding the answer to the question.)
Prediction: (This describes your experiment very briefly and states the outcome you expect that would support your hypothesis)
Experiment: (Describe how you tested your hypothesis)
Results: (Describe what happened, and whether the results supported or failed to support your hypothesis)
