FOR TEACHERS: You might like a printable WORD or printable PDF version of this page for your class. Students place small squares of paper in appropriate boxes to help sort out their ideas. Read this example.

 

STEP ONE - our ideas; a collection of possibilities:-

I want to find out about the effect of _____________________ on _____________________

Things (conditions or variables) we can change in our experiment are:

 

Things (data) we can measure and record during our experiment are:

 

STEP TWO - sorting our ideas; writing a draft plan:-

The one condition (variable) we will change is:

 

The one thing we will measure or record is:

 

All these other conditions we will keep the same:

 

STEP THREE - writing the final plan for our experiment:-

We want to find out what things influence the way that __________________. In our test we will change only one condition at a time; in this case the ________________ and try to compare this to a normal situation.

So we will have to keep these other conditions (variables) the same:

1. ____________________ 2. _______________ 3._______________ etc.

We think that if we increase the________________, the measurements we record of the_______________ will _______________ (choose one: increase / decrease / stay the same).

What did I learn? I found out that _______________________________.

I would like to know more about ____________________.

I am good at ________________.

I need help with _______________.

Read this...

The Sorcerers (Scientists) Apprentice

Scientists think of new ideas to explain what happens around us. The idea is called a hypothesis. A scientist will think "If I am right I can guess what will happen in the future". This is called making a prediction. A good scientist will always try to test their hypothesis to see if it matches the prediction.

The test must be done carefully so that it is fair and honest. At the end of the test the scientists thinks "What did the test show me?". This is called forming a conclusion. Last of all, but most importantly, a scientists asks "Do I need to change my ideas?"

Answer these questions...