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Science Process Skills

What's the Method?

What's the Method?
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 4
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.41

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    mentally, paragraph, retest, natural, hypothesis, investigate, false, hearing, observation, based, mothers, series, whatever, however, overnight, possible
     content words:    Toll House

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What's the Method?
By Trista L. Pollard 		  
1     Some of the best inventions happen by accident, like Toll House cookies. However, most inventions happen after many years of research. Scientists test and retest ideas hoping to solve scientific puzzles. Good scientists use a process called the scientific method.
 
2     The scientific method is a series of problem solving steps that help scientists answer scientific questions. You also use the scientific method when you work on experiments in your classroom. Scientists use this method to prove a scientific question true or false. These questions usually are asked after scientists have made observations. An observation happens when you use your senses (i.e., sight, smell, hearing, etc.) to notice what is going on around you. For example, your mom packs cut apples wrapped in plastic wrap in your lunch everyday. You notice at lunch time that the apples are slightly brown. This is an observation.
 
3     After observing your brown apples, you ask yourself, "Why does this apple turn brown when it is cut?" This is your scientific question. You start to guess or think about possible reasons for your brown apple. The time has come for you to make a good guess or a hypothesis based on your observations. You predict that the apple turns brown because air or oxygen has touched your apple. To prove your hypothesis, you need to develop a procedure or plan to test your prediction.

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