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Developing a Hypothesis

Developing a Hypothesis

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The Scientific Method Lesson Plan: Developing Hypotheses

Submitted by: charlie conway.

This is a lesson plan designed to be incorporated into a elementary or middle school general science class. Using BrainPOP and its resources, students will be introduced (or further exposed) to the steps necessary to undertake scientific experimentation leading (perhaps) to a Science Fair project. The Scientific Method is a core structure in learning about scientific inquiry, and although there are many variations of this set of procedures, they all usually have similar components. This lesson should take 45-60 minutes, with opportunities for extending the lesson further.

Students will:

  • Students will use BrainPOP features to build their understandings of the Scientific Method.
  • Students will learn how to identify and write effective hypotheses.
  • Students will use game play to write an appropriate hypothesis for an experiment.
  • Students will identify and utilize the tools necessary to design a scientific investigation.
  • Laptops/Computers
  • Interactive White Board
  • Pencil/Paper
  • Class set of photocopies of the Scientific Method Flow Chart
  • BrainPOP accounts (optional)

Vocabulary:

Preparation:.

These procedures may be modified according to the needs/resources of each teacher & class. For example, you may decide to do the quiz with pencil/paper, or do the quiz as a class.

Lesson Procedure:

  • Ask the students how scientists answer questions and solve problems. Take a few minutes to explore students' prior knowledge with a short discussion.
  • Tell the class that you're going to watch a BrainPOP movie about answering a scientific question about plant growth.
  • Show the BrainPOP movie on the Scientific Method two times. The first time, students should just watch and listen. The second time they should take notes. Pause the movie at critical STOP points.
  • Students should log on to their individual student accounts and take the Scientific Method Quiz to give the teacher some immediate feedback. (This can also be done as a pre-assessment, or at the very end of the lesson). NOTE: If you choose to, you can give a pencil/paper quiz also; students who work best with electronic media can be given accommodations). If you don't have access to individual student logins via MyBrainPOP (a school subscription), students can take the Review Quiz or paper quiz instead.
  • Discuss the main points from the movie: a. Write the definition of the scientific method: the procedure scientists use to help explain why things happen. b. Make a list on the board of the steps mentioned as part of the scientific method: problem, fact finding, observation, inference, hypothesis, experiment, conclusions. c. Tell students that there are various versions of the scientific method that they may see, but they are all basically the same.
  • Hand out the Scientific Method Flow Chart . Introduce the "If...then...because..." format for writing hypotheses. Give the students 10 minutes to complete the sheet with their group. They may use their notes from the movie to help them, and/or work collaboratively with other students.
  • Discuss some of the student responses in class. Focus on the hypotheses, and explain that a good hypothesis is a testable explanation of the problem. For example, a good hypothesis to the third problem would be, "If I move farther away from the microwave oven, then the cell phone signal will improve because I am further away from the source of interference." Show how this is a TESTABLE hypothesis that can lead to a scientific experiment.
  • Introduce the students to the Pavlov’s Dog game in GameUP. Allow time for the kids to explore the game without telling them why they are playing it.
  • After 10-15 minutes, have the students take a break from playing, and have a short discussion about the game. Ask if anyone was able to complete the task successfully, and have them share how they got the "diploma." If time allows, show the students how to complete the task so that they all understand that the dog has been conditioned to respond to a stimulus (noise before food has been introduced).
  • Have the students write a hypothesis that Pavlov may have written before he started his experiment. Students can either do this with pencil/paper, or the teacher may create a BrainPOP quiz and have students submit their hypothesis electronically. This may be used as a part of the assessment.
  • Choose some sample responses from the students, highlighting the hypotheses that are TESTABLE, and not just guesses or predictions.

If this lesson is an introduction to allowing students to plan and carry out their own experiments, then all that follows is naturally an extension to the lesson.

Other, shorter extensions are easy to develop as well.

Extension Activities:

writing a hypothesis worksheet high school

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Writing a Hypothesis Worksheet & Answers

Writing a Hypothesis Worksheet & Answers

Subject: Primary science

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Atomic Core Education

Last updated

29 October 2022

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writing a hypothesis worksheet high school

*** Worksheet + Answers Set, made for teachers to just print & go!***

This worksheet focuses on writing hypotheses for scientific reports.

It can be used as a lesson supplement or set for homework for students to complete as the steps and examples of writing a hypothesis are included.

Check out my other scientific report writing skills worksheets in my TES store!!!

*This activity was structured using teaching programs, ensuring its alignment to the Australian NSW NESA syllabus and learning outcomes. Such outcomes include SC4-8WS and SC4-9WS from the Stage 4 Science Syllabus.

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A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

Writing a Science Report Skills Bundle

**Science Report Skills Worksheet Bundle + Answers Set!** Clear the confusion and misconceptions around writing scientific reports for students! The lessons include a teacher-guided component and an activity for students to practice their skills along with a sample answer set for teachers to print, teach and go! This bundle includes worksheets on writing- 1. Aim 2. Hypothesis 3. Materials & Risk Assessment 4. Variables 5. Method 6. Choosing the right graph 7. Assessing reliability, accuracy & validity 8. Bibliography For more awesome worksheets, check out the other items on my TES store! *This activity was structured using teaching programs, ensuring its alignment to the Australian NSW NESA syllabus and learning outcomes. Such outcomes include SC4-8WS and SC4-9WS from the Stage 4 Science Syllabus.

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Writing a good hypothesis worksheet high school

What is a hypothesis.

A hypothesis is a tentative, testable answer to a scientific question. Once a scientist has a scientific question she is interested in, the scientist reads up to find out what is already known on the topic. Then she uses that information to form a tentative answer to her scientific question. Sometimes people refer to the tentative answer as “an educated guess.” Keep in mind, though, that the hypothesis also has to be testable since the next step is to do an experiment to determine whether or not the hypothesis is right!

A hypothesis leads to one or more predictions that can be tested by experimenting.

Predictions often take the shape of “If ____then ____” statements, but do not have to. Predictions should include both an independent variable (the factor you change in an experiment) and a dependent variable (the factor you observe or measure in an experiment). A single hypothesis can lead to multiple predictions, but generally, one or two predictions is enough to tackle for a science fair project.

Examples of Hypotheses and Predictions

How does the size of a dog affect how much food it eats?

Larger animals of the same species expend more energy than smaller animals of the same type. To get the energy their bodies need, the larger animals eat more food.

If I let a 70-pound dog and a 30-pound dog eat as much food as they want, then the 70-pound dog will eat more than the 30-pound dog.

Does fertilizer make a plant grow bigger?

Plants need many types of nutrients to grow. Fertilizer adds those nutrients to the soil, thus allowing plants to grow more.

Does an electric motor turn faster if you increase the current?

Electric motors work because they have electromagnets inside them, which push/pull on permanent magnets and make the motor spin. As more current flows through the motor’s electromagnet, the strength of the magnetic field increases, thus turning the motor faster.

If I increase the current supplied to an electric motor, then the RPMs (revolutions per minute) of the motor will increase.

Is a classroom noisier when the teacher leaves the room?

Teachers have rules about when to talk in the classroom. If they leave the classroom, the students feel free to break the rules and talk more, making the room nosier.

If I measure the noise level in a classroom when a teacher is in it and when she leaves the room, then I will see that the noise level is higher when my teacher is not in my classroom.

What if My Hypothesis is Wrong?

Writing a good hypothesis worksheet high school dirt in Florida, which has

For scientists, disproving a hypothesis still means they gained important information, and they can use that information to make their next hypothesis even better. In a science fair setting, judges can be just as impressed by projects that start out with a faulty hypothesis; what matters more is whether you understood your science fair project, had a well-controlled experiment, and have ideas about what you would do next to improve your project if you had more time. You can read more about a science fair judge’s view on disproving your hypothesis here.

It is worth noting, scientists never talk about their hypothesis being “right” or “wrong.” Instead, they say that their data “supports” or “does not support” their hypothesis. This goes back to the point that nature is complexso complex that it takes more than a single experiment to figure it all out because a single experiment could give you misleading data. For example, let us say that you hypothesize that earthworms do not exist in places that have very cold winters because it is too cold for them to survive. You then predict that you will find earthworms in the dirt in Florida, which has warm winters, but not Alaska, which has cold winters. When you go and dig a 3-foot by 3-foot-wide and 1-foot-deep hole in the dirt in those two states, you discover Floridian earthworms, but not Alaskan ones. So, was your hypothesis right? Well, your data “supported” your hypothesis, but your experiment did not cover that much ground. Can you really be sure there are no earthworms in Alaska? No. Which is why scientists only support (or not) their hypothesis with data, rather than proving them. And for the curious, yes there are earthworms in Alaska.

Hypothesis Checklist

What Makes a Good Hypothesis?

If I add fertilizer to the soil of some tomato seedlings, but not others, then the seedlings that got fertilizer will grow taller and have more leaves than the non-fertilized ones.

What happens if, at the end of your science project, you look at the data you have collected and you realize it does not support your hypothesis? First, do not panic! The point of a science project is not to prove your hypothesis right. The point is to understand more about how the natural world works. Or, as it is sometimes put, to find out the scientific truth. When scientists do an experiment, they very often have data that shows their starting hypothesis was wrong. Why? Well, the natural world is complexit takes a lot of experimenting to figure out how it worksand the more explanations you test, the closer you get to figuring out the truth. For scientists, disproving a hypothesis still means they gained important information, and they can use that information to make their next hypothesis even better. In a science fair setting, judges can be just as impressed by projects that start out with a faulty hypothesis; what matters more is whether you understood your science fair project, had a well-controlled experiment, and have ideas about what you would do next to improve your project if you had more time. You can read more about a science fair judge’s view on disproving your hypothesis here.

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