CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Scientists solve problems using the scientific method It’s a step-by-step process that all scientists scientists try to follow Scientists start by finding out as much as possible possible about a problem Then they make a hypothesis hypothesis They test the hypothesis with an experiment Then they analyze the results or the data to see if the hypothesis was right If the experiment does not support the hypothesis they think about the problem again and develop a new hypothesis They then test that hypothesis with a new experiment If the experiment supports the hypothesis other scientists repeat the experiment to make sure that they get the same results If they do get the same 4
Scientific method ask question collect information make observations form a hypothesis record and analyze data draw conclusions conduct experiment develop new hypothesis try again experiment supports hypothesis experiment does not support hypothesis communicate results The scientific method is the process scientists follow to solve problems Scientists conduct experiments and carefully carefully record analyze and evaluate the data results the hypothesis is accepted as true until it can be proven false 5 VOCABULARY Scientists use the information they learn from testing many hypotheses Scientific theories are explanations for hypotheses to develop scientific why things work or scientific theories A theory how things happen
Scientific laws sum up a wide range of observations and results of experiments Scientific theories are explanations for observations and results Can you think of a scientific scientific law How do they compare theory and a is a much broader explanation explanation than a hypothesis Scientists consider theories to be the best explanations for why some things happen happen in the natural world A theory may later need to be changed if scientists discover new information about the subject Historians trace the roots of the scientific method to the ancient Greeks Philosophers like Plato felt that reasoning reasoning was the way 6 Philosophers are people who seek wisdom or enlightenment such as scholars or thinkers COMPARE CONTRAST VOCABULARY
to all knowledge Plato’s student Aristotle believed that people could learn everything about the world using logic He argued that any theory must be based on observed facts The doctor Hippocrates made detailed observations of his patients and thought that diseases had a physical physical cause Before that people believed that diseases were caused by the gods or evil spirits Another influence was Galen of Pergamum He kept detailed notes about his treatment of injured gladiators The notes show a methodical Aristotle thought that people could learn anything they wanted if they put logic to use 7
