Scientific Method 

How can we determine if something is a fact or an opinion? How can we determine an answer to a problem? The answer is use the scientific method.  

What is the Scientific Method? It is a series of steps used to help solve a problem.

• Step 1. Make an Observation. After making an observation of the natural world, define the problem and make sure only one problem is being studied.
• Step 2. Research the problem (question). Use all available resources to collect data on the subject being covered. Libraries, Internet, books, magazines, personal interviews, etc.
• Step 3. Develop a hypothesis (educated guess). Make it a short definitive statement. It should be an "if" then" statement. The “if” part will become the hypothesis and the then part should be the results received at the end of the controlled experiment. Remember your hypothesis can be changed it is not formed in concrete.
• Step 4. Develop a controlled experiment. A controlled experiment is an experiment that contains only one experimental variable. An experimental variable is the thing being tested. Everything else in the experiment or all other variables must be the same. These variables are also called the controlled variables. Keeping these variables the same allows the experimenter to show that it was the experimental variable that caused the results.
• Step 5. Analyze the data and come up with a conclusion. The conclusion may or may not support the hypothesis. Additional experimentation must then take place to build documentation concerning the problem. If the hypothesis is proven wrong, change the hypothesis, not the data.

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