Scientific Method for Kids | Learn all about the Scientific Method Steps

clarendon learning explores the scientific method if you wanted to go to Disneyland and didn't live in Anaheim California and had never been there and didn't know the way but wanted to go so bad how would you get there okay probably by car but what direction would you go which roads would you travel okay some of you may have said I'd google it sure that's one way but say you don't have Google and you don't have a smartphone what do you do maybe you said a man well that's what I would use I'd use a road map and follow it and with a little luck I arrived at Disneyland there you go I also might need a compass now scientists are always curious about the world and how everything works and why it works and they are interested in inventing new things and making things that have already been invented even better while scientists are doing their work of discovery and experimenting they use a kind of road map it's called the scientific method the scientific method is a series of steps to perform to figure things out to get to the bottom of things to discover the answers to the questions of what and why and how things work and to make them work better look at a light bulb not an LED but an incandescent light bulb one that has a glowing filament how do you think we got the light bulb the light bulb was not invented by just one man the development of the light bulb took many years and many experiments and many men all working the scientific method to invent one of the most important discoveries ever can you imagine what it would be like if we did not have the light bulb we'd have nothing to wrap around the Christmas tree to make it glow through the night and you would probably be tripping around in the dark if he didn't have a flashlight and without the light bulb you don't have a flashlight the scientific method when followed properly can help you figure out the answers to some important questions let's look at the steps of the scientific method step number one is observing servation if you're like a scientist you are naturally curious about the world aren't you maybe when you were younger you were always asking adults questions like why is the sky blue what makes water freeze what makes lightning why do my bicycle tires always go flat what happens if I touch a hot stove hey don't touch that you'll burn your fingers as you looked at the world around you and wondered about things you are observing observation is the first step of the scientific method observation requires using one or more of the five senses what are the five senses hearing seeing smelling tasting and touching or feeling and then asking the questions or questions why or how asking yourself these questions will lead you to the second step of the scientific method the second step in the scientific method is to form a hypothesis and hypothesis is an educated guess or a statement usually your statement will go something like this if I do this fill in the blank that I believe this fill in the blank will happen you may not come up with the correct answer at first but making a guess is a good start your guest needs to be able to be tested by other people yes testing testing your hypothesis now leads you to the next step in the scientific method which is to experiment experimentation is the third step in the process of the scientific method this is the fun part your experiment may fail and may not support your guests or your hypothesis or maybe it will as you test your hypothesis through experiments you will want to conduct your experiments carefully each time if you don't get the desired response you may have to slightly tweak or adjust one of the characteristics of your test it takes great patience as you go through the experimental phase of the scientific method other people who want to test your guess or your hypothesis we'll need to conduct the experiment the exact same way regardless of the result of your experiment it will lead you to a conclusion conclusion the fourth step and the scientific method of discovery your conclusion may be that your experiment supported your hypothesis which may lead to more questions or your experiment did not support your guests your hypothesis in that case you will need to conduct further experiments until you get a satisfactory answer which may still lead to other observations as you continue your path of discovery through the scientific method it's important to keep a notebook and keep a record of your findings as you follow the steps of the scientific method let's run through a simple exercise to see how using the scientific method can work there are many areas in the US where winters can be brutally cold water freezes at zero degrees Celsius that's 32 degrees Fahrenheit and if it happens to rain the water turns to ice and snow that's great for sledding and boarding and skiing but not so cool for drivers and roads can be very treacherous and dangerous when they're icy and slick you may have seen snow removal trucks shoveling snow and spreading salt or sand on the highway to melt the ice there is your observation hmm it looks like salt melts ice but how much salt does it take to melt the ice and how much salt does it take to prevent water from freezing there is our step 1 using the scientific method our observation now on to step 2 the hypothesis we are going to make a guess this might be our guess if I use just a little salt then the ice will melt this could be our hypothesis or maybe you've come up with one on your own they're finished with step number two what step number three write experiment we are going to test our hypothesis our experiment must be carefully planned it must be able to be accurately repeated and be able to perform by someone else maybe this could be your experiment we could use a plastic cup or a plastic bowl or a paper plate why are we going to use plastic because glass breaks glass is dangerous guys I am gonna use a paper plate and put in some regular tap water next place your cup or bowl or paper plate of water in the freezer and give it time for the water to turn to ice remove the ice from the freezer and sprinkle a little sodium chloride also known as salt onto the ice and observe see if the ice begins to melt how much salt did you use how thick is your ice whatever you do you will have to keep precise notes a lot of notes there is no limit to the number of notes and explanation to give to your experiment and now what would you do next well maybe you would return your container to the freezer and see if the salty water refreezes you can run your experiment any number of ways more water less water more salt less salt at the end of each experiment you can come up with a new conclusion see if your experiment can be repeated and determine if the salt is an effective way to melt ice the point is to follow each step in the scientific method until you reach an answer an acceptable conclusion back to the light bulb of the several men who took part in the development of the incandescent light bulb Joseph Swan Hiram Maxim and Thomas Edison it was Thomas Edison that developed a practical long-lasting bulb Thomas Edison tried a thousand different ways to make an acceptable filament when he was asked how it felt to fail so many times Thomas Edison replied well I have not failed I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work now that's the attitude to have all right then go to it observe things hypothesize experiment conclude invent things make this world a better place you are born to do it and now while you're at it check out the Clarendon learning activity page for more great experiments using the scientific method thanks for following Clarendon learning be sure to subscribe if you're looking for more teaching resources check us out at Clarendon learning org

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Keywords: Scientific Method For Kids, Scientific Method for Children, Scientific Method, Steps of the scientific Method, Scientific Method steps, scientific method steps for kids, Clarendon Learning, Introduction to the scientific method, Teaching the Scientific Method, What are the steps to the scientific method?, Learn Bright

Id: qQBZbinoOrI

Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 19 2018