AH Biology - Unit 3 - KA1(a) - Scientific Method

What is science?

Science is the gathering and organisation of testable and reproducible knowledge.

How do scientists do science?

Scientists do science by following the scientific cycle.

What are the steps of the scientific cycle?

The steps of the scientific cycle are:

1. A testable hypothesis is made

2. An experiment is designed to test this hypothesis.

3. The experiment is carried out to gather data

4. The data is recorded

5. The data is analysed and evaluated

6. Conclusions are drawn from this

7. New hypotheses are made to be tested

What is step 1 of the scientific cycle?

Step 1 of the scientific cycle is “A testable hypothesis is made”

What is step 2 of the scientific cycle?

Step 2 of the scientific cycle is “An experiment is designed to test this hypothesis”

What is step 3 of the scientific cycle?

Step 3 of the scientific cycle is “The experiment is carried out to gather data”

What is step 4 of the scientific cycle?

Step 4 of the scientific cycle is “The data is recorded”

What is step 5 of the scientific cycle?

Step 5 of the scientific cycle is “The data is analysed and evaluated”

What is step 6 of the scientific cycle?

Step 6 of the scientific cycle is “Conclusions are drawn from this”

What is step 7 of the scientific cycle?

Step 7 of the scientific cycle is “New hypotheses are made to be tested”

What should scientific knowledge be thought of as?

Scientific knowledge should be thought of as the best current explanation. It is always being updated, evaluated, and refined as new experimental data is produced.

What should all experiments be?

All experiments should be reproducible by other scientists, and if it is a “one-off result” (can’t be reproduced) then it should be treated with caution.

As a result of experiments needing to be reproducible, when are scientific ideas accepted as knowledge?

As a result of experiments needing to be reproducible, scientific ideas are only accepted as knowledge once they have been checked independently by other scientists.

What can negative results from an experiment be seen as?

When an experiment produces a negative result (no relationship is found between the independent variable and the dependent variable) this can be seen as important as a positive result as long as the experiment has been well designed.

What does an experiment sometimes generate and how can this be overcome?

Sometimes an experiment generates a false negative result where the data is conflicting due to a poor experimental design. This can often be overcome by better initial planning and design at the start.

What does the null hypothesis state?

The null hypothesis states that there will be no statistically significant effect as a result of the experimental treatment.