scientific method fifth grade laurel mill elementary school

SCIENTIFIC METHODFIFTH GRADE

LAUREL MILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

STEP 1 – THE QUESTION

THERE ARE AN ENDLESS NUMBER OF QUESTIONS IN OUR UNIVERSE THAT ARE JUST WAITING FOR ANSWERS.

SCIENTISTS MUST DECIDE WHICH PROBLEMS OR MYSTERIES THEY WANT TO SOLVE.

ARE THERE QUESTIONS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER?

STEP 1 – THE QUESTION

SCIENTISTS MUST BE SURE TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE QUESTIONS THEY ARE GOING TO ANSWER TO ENSURE THEY REACH THE RIGHT CONCLUSIONS. THEY MUST KNOW THE

APPROPRIATE MATERIALS AND DATA THEY NEED TO COLLECT TO GET TO THE RIGHT ANSWERS.

LET’S SEE HOW GOOD YOU ARE AT FIGURING OUT WHAT KINDS OF ANSWERS YOU NEED FOR THE

FOLLOWING QUESTIONS!!

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE RAINFALL IN LOUISBURG PER YEAR?

WHAT WILL THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION BE:

A. A WORD?B. A NUMBER?C. A PLACE?D. SOMEBODY’S NAME?

WHAT UNIT OF MEASUREMENT WILL THE ANSWER MOST LIKELY BE IN?

E. INCHESF. DEGREESG. KILOMETERSH. MILES

WHAT IS THE COLDEST MONTHOF THE YEAR IN LOUISBURG?

WHAT WILL THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION BE:A. A WORD?B. A NUMBER?C. A PLACE?D. SOMEBODY’S NAME?

WHAT UNIT OF MEASUREMENT WILL WE USE TO FIND THE ANSWER?

E. METERSF. MILESG. DEGREESH. INCHES

WRITE THESE NOTES IN YOUR SCIENCE JOURNAL

STEP 1 – THE QUESTION

UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION

KNOW THE APPROPRIATE MATERIALS AND DATA YOU NEED TO COLLECT

STEP 2 – RESEARCH AND FIND FACTS

IN SCIENCE, A FACT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE PROVEN BY OBSERVATION (SEEING WITH YOUR OWN EYES) OR MEASUREMENT BY USING AN APPROPRIATE TOOL (SUCH AS A RULER OR THERMOMETER.)

OFTEN PEOPLE CONFUSE THEIR OPINIONS WITH FACTS.

CAN YOU TELL ME THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPINION AND FACT?

OPINIONS

• A SUNNY DAY IS BETTER THAN A RAINY DAY.

• PINEAPPLE IS DELICIOUS ON PIZZA.

• GREEN IS THE BEST COLOR.• DAISIES ARE BEAUTIFUL.

CAN YOU PROVIDE ME SOME EXAMPLES OF OPINIONS?

OPINIONS ARE STATEMENTS THAT DEPEND ON A PERSON’S VALUES OR BELIEFS. THEY WILL DIFFER FROM PERSON TO

PERSON. THESE STATEMENTS CAN NOT BE PROVEN.

FACTS

• 2 + 2 = 4• WATER FREEZES AT 32°• RALEIGH IS THE CAPITAL OF NORTH CAROLINA.

FACTS ARE CONCRETE AND ARE THE SAME NO MATTER WHO LOOKS AT THEM. FACTS CAN BE OBSERVED AND PROVEN USING TOOLS.

CAN YOU PROVIDE ME SOME EXAMPLES OF FACTS?

WRITE THESE NOTES IN YOUR SCIENCE JOURNAL

STEP 2 – RESEARCH AND FIND FACTS

LEARN THE FACTS ABOUT YOUR QUESTION

DO NOT USE OPINIONS

STEP 3 - HYPOTHESISBASED ON THE RESEARCH YOU HAVE DONE, YOU WILL PREPARE AN ANSWER OR SOLUTION – YOUR BEST EDUCATED GUESS – TO YOUR QUESTION.

YOU MUST FORM YOUR HYPOTHESIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR EXPERIMENT.

LET’S SEE HOW GOOD YOU ARE AT FORMING A HYPOTHESIS!

TELL ME YOUR HYPOTHESIS BASED ON THESE FACTS

• IT IS JUST BEFORE DINNER AND YOU SEE AND SMELL TACO MEAT COOKING ON THE STOVE.

• YOUR TV GOES BLACK AND YOU GET UP AND TRY THE LIGHT SWITCH AND IT DOESN’T WORK.

• YOUR FRIEND SHOWS UP AT YOUR HOUSE WITH A FISHING POLE AND SOME BAIT.

WRITE THESE NOTES IN YOUR SCIENCE JOURNAL

STEP 3 – PREPARE YOUR HYPOTHESIS

BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH, MAKE YOUR BEST GUESS AS TO THE ANSWER

STEP 4 – TEST YOUR HYPOTHESISMATERIALS

• MAKE A DETAILED LIST OF THE ITEMS YOU NEEDED TO COMPLETE YOUR EXPERIMENT.

• BE SPECIFIC ABOUT THE AMOUNTS AND MATERIALS USED.

PROCEDURE

• LIST ALL OF THE STEPS USED IN COMPLETING YOUR EXPERIMENT.

• REMEMBER TO NUMBER YOUR STEPS.• ADD PHOTOS OR DRAWINGS OF YOUR

EXPERIMENTS.EXPERIMENT

WRITE THESE NOTES IN YOUR SCIENCE JOURNAL

STEP 4 – TEST YOUR HYPOTHESIS

PREPARE YOUR MATERIALS

DOCUMENT YOUR PROCEDURE

EXPERIMENT

STEP 5 – ANALYZE YOUR DATA

• REVIEW THE RESULTS OF YOUR EXPERIMENT

• ORGANIZE YOUR DATA

• DETERMINE IF YOUR HYPOTHESIS IS CORRECT

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS YOU COULD ORGANIZE YOUR DATA?

ORGANIZING DATA

BAR GRAPHS

PIE CHARTS

LINE GRAPHS

WRITE THESE NOTES IN YOUR SCIENCE JOURNAL

STEP 5 – ANALYZE YOUR DATA

DOCUMENT YOUR RESULTS IN AN ORGANIZED MANNER

REVIEW THE RESULTS

STEP 6 – DRAW YOUR CONCLUSION

BASED ON YOUR DATA, DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOUR HYPOTHESIS WAS CORRECT.

PREPARE A REPORT WHICH CLEARLY DOCUMENTS YOUR RESULTS SO OTHERS MAY LEARN FROM YOUR

EXPERIMENT.

WRITE THESE NOTES IN YOUR SCIENCE JOURNAL

STEP 6 – CONCLUSION

PREPARE A REPORT WHICH PROVES OR DISPROVES YOUR HYPOTHESIS.

TOMORROW WE WILL PARTICIPATE IN AN EXPERIMENT. YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO FOLLOW THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD!