Scientific investigations vocabulary

What is the Scientific method?

• A series of questions

• A list of instructions

• A process of experimentation that allows us to answer questions

• The way Scientists used to work

What is the aim of an investigation?

• What we intend to find out

• How we intend to find out the answer

• Why we are finding the answer

• Who is going to find the answer

What is a variable?

• Variations within the experiment

• Anything that can change during an experiment

• The repeating of the experiment by classmates

• Something that must be keep the same during an experiment

The independent variable

• Changes due to other factors

• Is an individual step of the experiment

• The change that you are making on purpose

• Can be different when repeating the same experiment

The dependant variable

• Is the thing you measure

• Must not change during the experiment

• Depends on the people/place doing the experiment

• Is the thing you change on purpose

A controlled variable

• The thing you change on purpose

• Something in an experiment that can change but we keep the same

• Can be measured to test your hypothesis

• Is the thing that determines how the experiment is run, in control of the experiment

A Hypothesis

• Is what you want to find out

• A summary of the dependent variable

• A statement of your prediction for the outcome of the experiment

• A statement explaining what your experiment found out

 

Materials and methods section

• Must be specific

• Must be general with gaps so that someone else can change things

• Can say "I did" or "I will"

• Should not include information like volumes or quantities

An experiment is reliable if

• The experiment is done 3 times with big differences in results

• The same/similar results are obtained from 3 or more trials

• You made a mistake in one trail but did not change it in the next

• It takes the same amount of time to complete each trail

What is the conclusion?

• A summary of the experiment based on your results

• What you thought would happen

• A summary of what you hope will happen

• What you wanted to happen