PDS APES 8th Period 2009-10

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

BASIC METHOD

• Start with question or problem
• Deal with background information before every lab
• Make a testable prediction (Hypothesis)
• Create a sound experiment with precision (The ability of a measurement to be consistently reproduced.) and accuracy (The ability of a measurement to match the actual value of the quantity being measured.)

Our labs mirror the scientific method but aren’t always reliable because…

• We often don’t reproduce the lab (we only have 45 minute periods)
• We don’t have a lot of peer review unless we do whiteboarding

So- WHAT can we know?
1. We know things we can disprove–science is proving relationships… hard to prove absolute truth (global warming? evolution?)
2. If relationships are casual or correlative
3.  Theory–well tested hypothesis
4. Law–accurate description (close to fact)

HOW can we know?

Good Experimental Design
Controlled Exp.
Manipulative
CAUSITIVE

Observational Exp.
Pick two situations and compare
CORRELATIVE