hello and welcome to the scientific method my name is Kylie and in this
video you'll learn how to be a detective investigating a science mystery
science of the study of how the world around you works
there's about asking and answering questions about what you see hear smell
taste and touch science lets us look at patterns in our
world and lets you solve problems using many different strategies sometimes you
have to get really creative and sometimes you just have to accept that
what you see isn't really what you think you see science involves the five senses
it involves a little math a little art a little reading and a little writing and
science you are always investigating a mystery you might have many questions
about your world already questions like why do human beings blink why does
the weather change is it better for our environment to use paper or plastic bags
how does Wi-Fi work why does my little brother sneeze every time he is around
plants why did my Apple rot in my lunch bag I bet you asked tons of what where
when why and how questions you already have the mind of a scientific detective
to better investigate the questions it is a good idea to organize your thoughts
into a plan this plan has a name in science it's called the scientific
method the scientific method is a set of procedures like a recipe to help you
problem-solve and come to a final answer or conclusion to your question in the
early 1600s Francis Bacon a lawyer and philosopher first proposed a structured
method known as a scientific method he was influenced by the scientific work of
Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilee Isaac Newton a popular scientist known
for his study of gravity did a lot to carry this method into modern science
science today do not all agree on the best way
of using the scientific method in fact some believe that there are many
detailed steps whereas others use a general outline I will give you a
general overview first then we can talk more about examples of using the
scientific method to put your specific detective skills to good use the five
main steps of the scientific method are state a question gather information form
a hypothesis test your hypothesis and then analyze the results and draw
conclusions let's look at each step in detail the first step is a scientific
method is starting a question in this step you decide what you want to
investigate you all know what you are looking for if you do not have a
question first what do you want to know
you might have many related questions about bubbles for example like what is a
bubble why are there many colors in a bubble can I change the color of bubbles
can I make bubbles in different shapes
can bubbles be different sizes what supplies do I need to make my own
bubbles why do bubbles pop Kim bubbles bounce like balls is it possible to make
a bubble last forever all these questions have to do with one topic
bubbles you can investigate each of these questions in one specific question
how our bubbles formed by narrowing down the question you are also narrowing down
your investigation
the second step in the scientific method is to gather information or data it is
another way of saying research this is where your detective skills come in now
that you asked how bubbles are formed you will need to find out all you need
to know about bubbles some things you might already know like medium soap to
make bubbles but some other things you might not know to find out more or to
research you can do a search on the Internet read books watch videos or ask
experts next you'll need to take what you learn about bubbles and make a guess
about the answer to your main question this is called making a hypothesis or an
educated guess an educated guess is not a wild guess you need to use information
you gathered to help you make a prediction about what you think the
answer or solution could be or will be
your prediction might not be the correct answer
but it could help you make a sense based on the scientific evidence you gathered
in the research step an example of a hypothesis for this bubble investigation
is that it is not possible to blow bubbles with water but the more soap we
add to the water the easier it is to blow bubbles right now you are not sure
if this hypothesis is the fully correct answer to your main question of how
bubbles are formed but it is a good educated statement an example of a wild
guess or a poorly formed hypothesis would be bubbles are formed when a
rainbow melts and becomes blobs of color transparent balls while this is a super
cool creative and funny answer it doesn't make much sense based on what
you already investigated in the research stage next you will test your hypothesis
in other words you will perform an experiment to help you decide if you're
educated guess was right this is where the science gets fun okay
so when experimenting you have a few steps to keep in mind you will need to
determine variables gather the correct equipment and materials test record what
you observe and before testing your hypothesis you need to decide what
things can be manipulated or changed this can be the tricky part but it's
also what makes science experiments so fun for example if you're going to
figure out how bubbles are formed you can test different kinds of wands do
a star-shaped wand would that work or different kinds of liquids can we make
bubbles with apple juice or different ways to blow air into a bubble can I
make better bubbles with a fan what can you manipulate or change is
called variables get it because they vary what is important to keep in mind
and to make testing accurate is to only change one variable at a time
this way you can know which variable made the difference in results next
decide what do you need to perform the scientific test for bubbles you will
need soap water a tub store-bought bubble wands other household materials
like utensils straws and so on just like with the cooking recipe it's always best
to have all the ingredients or in this case all of your equipment and materials
before you begin the experiment if you plan to do science experiments often
there are some standard materials and equipment you could have on hand you
don't necessarily have to buy these you can borrow them from a friend a school
or sometimes even from your local library common lab materials or
equipment include a microscope a magnifying glass a scale a thermometer
a timer bottles jars and jugs funnels droppers tweezers and tongs and some
fancy science equipment like flasks beakers and test tubes and many more it
is also important to have safety gear when doing science like safety goggles
and gloves a lab coat has a purpose too it's not just a fashion statement lab
coats are meant to protect a scientist clothes from chemicals dyes and liquids
okay let's get back to the scientific method once you've gathered your
equipment and materials you can now conduct the experiment or the test
in other words follow the steps of the experiment
finally keep paper and pencil handy so that you can quickly jot down notes
about what you did and what you observed when observing be sure to use the five
senses as much as possible be careful not to taste or touch anything dangerous
is a good idea to check with an adult before starting any investigation when
writing down what you observe be sure you are writing facts only don't include
your opinion even if it's hard to resist sometimes and don't leave anything out
once you have completed the experiment and recorded your findings it's time to
analyze the results this means you read and think about what
happened in the experiment go back to your original question in this case how
are bubbles formed and see if you have come up with an answer
does your finding agree or disagree with your original guess can you support your
hypothesis what can you conclude about how bubbles are formed based on your
findings in other words what did you learn in the bubbles experiment you'll
likely learn that the more soapy liquid you add to the water the easier it is
blow bubbles the scientific process does not end here even if the five steps are
complete there are a couple things to consider first the findings of an
investigation are not considered scientific unless the experiment can be
reproduced once you have tested your hypothesis can your friend follow the
steps easily does your friend also find that bubbles can only be blown from
soapy water the second thing to know about the scientific process is that a
hypothesis is valid or true until it can be proven to be false by finding an
example where the hypothesis is not true when a hypothesis is not true this does
not mean that you or the scientist did a bad job or failed not at all it is so
trial and error that scientific knowledge is always improved it's
actually encouraged Benjamin Franklin experimented and refined his hypothesis
many times before he discovered electricity and there you have it no one
is too young or too old to investigate questions in our world and you can't
just watch a video about science you have to do science
so get together with family and friends and keep solving all these fun mysteries
and before you know it you'll have the method down to a science if you want to
learn more about science be sure to check out our fun online games and
quizzes and remember to always be curious