Tag: <span>Scientific</span>

Using Scientific Method For Science Fair Projects With Science Kits

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on May 29, 2023 @ 8:29 am

Using the scientific method and good science kits can help you succeed with any science fair project. It can make the difference between failure and success. So to help you get started, we’ve compiled the following list of a few crucial steps.

The first step is to identify the question you are seeking to answer. Your question should ask how, what, when, who, where or why regarding something you have observed. The question becomes the foundation for the science fair project. Answering this question becomes the goal of the project. The scientific method will guide you through the project as you gather scientific evidence through various steps of observation, research, trial and error, and measuring, all for the purpose of substantiating any conclusions you will make.

The second step is doing background research to gather information that will help you answer the question you identified in step one. These research findings will become evidence that you will use to prove or disprove a theory. Research can incorporate your local library and the internet. It can also include science kits related to the topic of your question. For example, if your question is related to crystal growing, you can find science kits filled with valuable materials and information that can be used as part of your evidence.

Here is a tip for any research: it’s entirely possible someone else before you has attempted to answer the same question. You don’t want to retrace another’s steps. Your goal is to blaze your own trails while using the knowledge and evidence that others have already uncovered. Even if you utilize science kits prepared for the masses, you can add your own unique approach to how you use it in your science fair project.

Third, after completing the background research, you’ll then form your hypothesis. This means you consider all of the information you’ve gathered, and make an assumption of its outcome. This is also called an “educated guess”. You’ll want to form your hypothesis in such a way that you can not only prove it, but measure your findings that lead you to the answer of your hypothesis.

Fourth, you must test your hypothesis. This can truly be the fun part of your project. You’ve developed your question, completed your research and formed your hypothesis. Your goal now is to prove that hypothesis with experiments. This is another step where good science kits can help by providing you with the materials and information needed to conduct a meaningful test. A good science kit can provide scientific tools and other items that are not normally found around the house.

Here is a tip regarding the testing step. Ideally, you will be able to prove your hypothesis as true, but every good scientist has had his share of projects that disproved his hypothesis. Some scientists have made impressive advances by proving their hypothesis is false. It’s how we move forward and progress. Still, if your hypothesis isn’t proven via your experiments, you will need to backtrack and redefine the hypothesis to one that can be proven successfully.

Finally, every good scientist knows the importance of communication. You will need to document your findings and then communicate your results to others. One way to do this is by displaying your project at a science fair. Displaying colorful posters at the science fair can help better communicate your project. Another method of communication is written reports and articles.

The greatest realizations and inventions throughout history began when someone asked questions and set out to find answers supported by evidence. A science fair is a great place to practice and refine natural traits of curiosity and determination, traits that have caused mankind to keep advancing through the ages. By using the scientific method combined with good science kits, you may just be the next inventor of something amazing that will propel the human race forward.

Source by Joe Kanooga

08 Sep

The Scientific Method in Geology

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on September 8, 2021 @ 7:37 pm

Our scientists and researchers have been contributing to the enhancement of knowledge. The description of knowledge is known as science. The interpretation of knowledge is the philosophy. Research is meant for the advancement of our knowledge.

There are several problems in various fields. For instance, there are several explanations given by various scientists about the origin of the universe. Hubble could explain the expansion of the universe through his popular law, which is known as the Hubble’s law. According to it, the universe has been expanding and its age is about 13 billion years. He calculated the age of the universe by using his own equation, which states that the recessional velocity of galaxies from the planet earth is directly proportional to the distance from the earth. But according to some other scientists, the age of the universe is more than 13 billion years and is about 15 billion years. Thus there is a controversy about the age as well as the expansion or contraction of the universe!.

The scientific method does involve five steps. Identification of the problem or questioning is the first step. For instance, one can ask a question such as the origin of magma in the crustal region of the earth. The crustal region does not contain the temperatures required for the origin of the magma!. The second step is the collection of data or laboratory tests or measurements or experimentation. Based on the laboratory investigations, explanation or hypothesis can be done. The required temperatures for magma generation in the crustal region were due to the plate movements and also the subduction zones, according to some explanations. But still research has been going on in several countries of the world to explain the phenomenon.

Thus the hypothesis or explanations will be tested. They can either be rejected or accepted. If they are rejected, further investigations will be done. If an explanation is accepted, it will become a theory. Plate tectonics theory is an example of an accepted hypothesis or explanation. Nebular hypothesis theory is an another example. The accepted theories will be further tested and if they are accepted, they will become the laws. Gravitational law, laws of motion, thermodynamics laws, etc are the examples for the accepted theories.

The Scientists could also explain the variation of colours of same species of fossils at different locations. Collection of samples and heating in the laboratory could give the answer. If fossils are buried for millions of years, their colour would change due to changes in temperature and pressure conditions!.

Source by Tirumala Prasad

18 Aug

What is Scientific Inquiry?

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on August 18, 2021 @ 7:27 pm

Scientific inquiry requires students to use higher order thinking skills as they learn science using a hands-on minds-on approach. Inquiry’s foundation has its roots in John Dewey’s book Democracy in Education (1916). In this book he describes how true learning begins with the curiosity of learners.

Defining Scientific Inquiry

His research found that student curiosity and involvement real science investigations moves students from passive learners to active learners. This is evidenced when students:

ask questions during an investigation
design their own investigations
conduct investigations using their design
formulate explanations of findings
present their findings
reflect upon their findings

Scientific inquiry causes a fundamental change in science education, moving it away from traditional teaching practices of lecture and demonstration to a collaborative relationship between teacher and student. In these collaborative environments, students take risks without fear of ridicule and begin to think about science. Teachers become facilitators of their student’s inquiry by:

modeling and immersing their students in scientific inquiry
ask guiding questions which provoke thought and reflection
allow student creativity in experimental design
allow students to discover experiments can be successful, yet fail to answer the original question being investigated

Initial confusion by students analyzing experimental findings is not necessary bad, because they are using critical thinking processes. Confusion is good in this setting, because it demonstrates students are trying to determine why they did not find the typical canned answer. Also, a hypothesis can actually result in a non-support statement as a result of the experiment.

Too often students investigate canned labs which result in a guided hypothesis which can only result in supported finding. This leads them to feel when their experiment does not support their hypothesis they failed. They have not failed, however they do not know this in traditional science teaching.

Scientific Inquiry Involves Asking Questions

Student success designing experiments is based on asking the right questions. They need to develop questions which do not lead to yes/no or true/false answers, because the best questions are open-ended and inquiry-based. As students analyze evidence to explain findings, open-ended questions provide the answers they need to formulate meaningful explanations.

Answering questions in a student’s own words is important for higher level of thinking and knowledge. A student’s own words disclose level of understanding and reveal misconceptions based on prior knowledge and experiences.

Impact of Using Scientific Inquiry

When students make personal connections when using scientific inquiry, internalization of the new knowledge takes place. The key attributes of scientific inquiry-based teaching and learning result in students: