Physics notes | The scientific method

The Scientific Method

Unit: Laboratory & Measurement
NGSS Standards: N/A
MA Curriculum Frameworks (2006): N/A
Knowledge/Understanding Goals:
 Understand the scientific method
Language Objectives:
 Understand and correctly use terms relating to the scientific method, such
as “peer review”
Notes:

The scientific method is a fancy name for “figure out what happens by trying it.”
In the middle ages, “scientists” were called “philosophers.” These were church
scholars who decided what was “correct” by arguing and debating with each
other.
During the Renaissance, scientists like Galileo Galilei and Leonardo da Vinci
started using experiments instead of argument to decide what really happens in
the world.
Steps:



1. Observe something interesting.
2. Figure out and perform an experiment that will have different outcomes
depending on the parameter(s) being tested.
3. Repeat the experiment, varying your conditions as many ways as you can.
4. If possible, come up with a model that explains and predicts the behavior
you observed. This model is called a theory.