What exactly is the "scientific method"?

Question

What are the steps used in the "Scientific Method"?

Answer 1

Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Data/Results, Conclusion.

Answer 2

it would have been easier to just search for it, but the scientific method is a logical way to find solutions through testing, observation, and analysis of the results.

The steps are basically these:
1- Form a Question- this is AKA as your Problem, you can only do this by making observations beforehand or by having basic, background information. For example: you see a plant growing, and you wonder if it grows towards light. So your question is: Do plants grow towards their source of light?

2- Make a Hypothesis- try to guess the answer to your own question, what do you think it is. Example: I believe that plants do grow to their source of light.

3- Test the Hypothesis- make a procedure or form an experiment to see if you are right or wrong. List all of the things you can control (dependent variable), can't control (independent variable), and things that you know won't change or you keep the same( Constant Variable). Example: Get three or more plants that are exactly the same (same amount of food/water/soil, same amount of light, same size and age), get three boxes with one hole each in the diff. places and put each one on a plant. Then wait and see.

4- Look at the results- see what happend, there was only one thing different with each plant, where the light source was, did each plant grow to where ever the hole was?

5- Draw conclusions- finalize the answer to you question, say whether your hypothesis was correct or not.

6- Tell everybody what you found out!- Make some sort of report and let people know.

Answer 3

1. Problem
2. Questions
3. Information
4. Hypothesis
5. Experiment
6. Data

Answer 4

The above answers are all fine. It is worth mentioning, however, that there is no one method by which science is done. To reduce science to several steps is an over-simplification. And the steps are not linear, either.

Answer 5

Lots of info for you--some web sites
If you need more e-mail me
I'm a science teacher

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/studies_scimethod.html

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/sci_meth.htm

http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/scientific_method_notes.htm

This last one os probably the best