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Data: supporting evidence
We all started going through the process of the
scientific method as children. For example, we all
learned that bouncing balls harder will make them
bounce back up higher.
Here is the process that we went through:
Ask Question: “what will happen if I throw the ball down
to the ground?”
 Research: you observed other kids throwing balls and
saw that their ball bounced back..you then
wondered…”does this bouncing thing work for my
ball.”
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You threw the ball down to the ground and found
out that it did bounce. This lead to more questions.
“What happens if I throw the ball harder?” This
lead you to a hypothesis.
Hypothesis: a statement that predicts the
relationships between two variables in an
experiment.
Your hypothesis was the ball should go higher when
I throw the ball harder toward the ground.
You then tested your hypothesis by throwing the
ball harder.
To put it another way, you found one thing that you were
going to change (the downward force you were going to
apply to the ball) and another thing you thought might
change as a result of changing the first thing (the height of
the bounce).
 Scientists call the thing we change on purpose the
independent variable. Independent variable: changed
by the scientist not as a result of the experiment. In our
example the independent variable was how hard the ball
was thrown to the floor.
 As a result of changing the independent variable, other
variables in the experiment will change or respond.
Dependent variables: change in response to the
independent variable. In our example, the dependent
variable was how high the ball then bounced due to how
hard the ball was thrown.
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A hypothesis should be stated as a cause and
effect statement. For example, if I place
increasing amounts of downward force on a
ball, then the resulting height will also increase.
This allows you to identify the independent
and dependent variables easier. The “if” part
of the statement is the independent variable
and the “then” is the dependent variable.
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How do I know the only possible cause of the
ball bouncing higher is the increase in force I
put on the ball? You have to only change one
thing in the experiment. The things that you
do not change are called the control variables.
Control variables: the scientist does not allow
these things to change during the experiment.
They are very important because they allow
you to rule out other possible explanations for
your experiment.
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While you were throwing your ball, you were
making some mental notes about how high the
ball bounced. You came to the conclusion that
your hypothesis was supported by the data.
Even if your hypothesis was not supported by
the data…your experiment would not be a
failure. You would still gain valuable
information from it.
Scientific Method (Process)
1. Observe natural phenomena and form a guiding question
2. Research information related to the question
3. State a hypothesis
4. Set up an experiment that will produce results that support or refute your
hypothesis
5. Collect and organize your data
6. State a conclusion
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It’s important to understand that not all
scientific processes will happen in exactly that
order, but it does need to be orderly and
consistent. Operationally: an orderly process
used to solve a problem.
Doing the steps in order is also called
completing the steps in chronological order.
Chronological order: ordered by time, or
going in order from beginning to end.