Scientific method

The scientific method is a way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments.

The steps of the scientific method are to:
-Ask a Question: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?

-Do Background Research: using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don't repeat mistakes from the past.

-Construct a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work:"If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen."

-Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment: Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same.

-Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion: Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false.

-Communicate Your Results: communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board, publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster at a scientific meeting.

Scientists use the scientific method to search for cause and effect relationships in nature.