Thin
Thinking
Like A Scientist:
Scientific Inquiry
Thinking Like A Scientist:
Thi
Scientific Inquiry
When you hear the words “Scientific Inquiry,” what does
that mean to you? There are a lot of factors that play into the
term “scientific inquiry”, but simply put it is how scientist s go
about finding answers to questions about the nat ural world. Have
you ever wondered how certain thing s work in the world? If so,
you’ve probably practiced scientific inquiry without even knowing
it!
When
h you hear the words “Scientific Inquiry,” what does
that mean to you? There are a lot ooff factors that play into the
term “scientific inquiry”, but simply put it is how scientist s go
about finding answers to questions about the nat ural world. Have
you ever wondered how certain thing s work in the world? If so,
you’ve probably practiced scientific inquiry without even knowing
it!
Scientific inquiry includes scientific observations and
scientific ideas. Those ideas that scientist s come up with (or that
YOU come up with) are based on the observations they record. The
ideas can then be used to help you understand and explain what
you observe in the nat ural world. Scientist s also use experiment s
to test their ideas and thought s. Have you ever done an
experiment to answer a question you have wondered about?
Scientific inquiry includes scientific observations and
scientific ideas. Those ideas that scientist s come up with (or that
YOU come up with) are based on the observations they record. The
ideas can then be used to help you understand and explain what
you observe in the nat ural world. Scientist s also use experiment s
to test their ideas and thought s. Have you ever done an
experiment to answer a question you have wondered about?
When scientist s encounter a problem or question, they will
typically make a prediction ooff the answer or solution to the
problem. A prediction is a statement of what you think will happen
based on your prior knowledge, research, and observations.
Scientist s use all of that information gathered to create theories
and laws about what they have st udied. A theory is a set of ideas
that tie together many observations 1 theories are based on ideas
that have been tested and shown to be true over time, but could
possibly still be proven wrong. A law is also based on ideas that
have been tested and proven to be true, but scientific laws
typically cannot be proven wrong.
When scientist s encounter a problem or question, they will
typically make a prediction ooff the answer or solution to the
problem. A prediction is a statement of what you think will happen
based on your prior knowledge, research, and observations.
Scientist s use all of
o f that information gathered to create theories
and laws about what they have st udied. A theory is a set of ideas
that tie together many observations 1 theories are based on ideas
that have been tested and shown to be true over time, but could
possibly still be proven wrong. A law is also based on ideas that
have been tested and proven to be true, but scientific laws
typically cannot be proven wrong.
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Scientific Inquiry
Scientific
Observations
Scientific
Ideas
In struc tion s:
Cut out the graphic s an d arrange them to create a graphic organizer for
scientific in quiry. Connec t them with arrows to show how scientific in quiry
typically works. Add notes & important in formation aroun d the organizer.
Then, respon d to the writing prompt an d add to the same page as your
graphic organizer.
Theories &
Laws
Writing About Reading
Discuss a time where you used scientific in quiry to investigate a problem or an swer a question that you
won dered about.
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Experiments &
Tests
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