Scientific Process Skills

What is a process skill?

An activity that is engaged in by scientists to establish problem solving and research.

What is a problem statement

The problem you want solved in your experiment, the question you want answered.

How can you enhance your problem statement

By doing further research.

What is a hypothesis?

An educated guess that is made based on prior knowledge (research from problem statement).

What is a prediction?

A specific forecast of the outcome of events that usually involves numbers.

What is an experimental design?

How a experiment is formulated, identifying variables (manipulated & responding), groups (control and group), and procedure.

What is an observation?

What you see, hear, smell, etc.

What is an inference?

An insight into WHY a observation occured.

What is an analysis?

An interpretation of the data gathered within an experiment, addressing possible errors and drawing a conclusion.

Control group vs. Experimental group

The control group is not exposed to the manipulated variable and asks as a baseline for the results obtained, and the experimental group is exposed to the manipulated variable and is where results are drawn.

Observation vs. Inference.

Observation is WHAT you observed, Inference is WHY you observed.

What are the three things needed in a hypothesis?

1. Reason(s) why

2. A possible answer

3. testable answer