Conducting a Scientific Investigation: Planning and Procedures
Conducting a Scientific Investigation: Planning and Procedures
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
Understand why asking good questions is important in science.
Identify the characteristics of a good scientific question.
Formulate a clear and testable aim for a scientific investigation based on a given phenomenon or problem.
Differentiate between a question that can be investigated and one that cannot.
Imagine you are in your kitchen and you have a fresh egg and a glass of plain water. You drop the egg into the water, and it sinks to the bottom. "Hmm," you think, "why did it sink?" Then, you remember your Nanay (mother) sometimes adds salt to water when she's cooking. You get a glass of water, add a lot of salt, stir it until it dissolves, and then carefully place the egg in the salty water. To your surprise, the egg floats!
Now, think about these questions:
What surprised you the most in this little experiment?
What questions popped into your head when you saw the egg sink and then float?
Which of these questions do you think a scientist would be most interested in exploring further? Why?
Write down your thoughts about these questions. This is the first step in becoming a great scientist – being curious and asking questions!
Science is all about exploring the world around us and trying to understand how and why things happen. Think about all the amazing discoveries throughout history – from understanding how plants grow to how airplanes fly. All of these started with someone asking a question.
What is a Scientific Investigation?
A scientific investigation is like being a detective. You have a mystery (a question or a problem), you gather clues (information and data), and you try to solve the mystery (find an answer or explanation).
Why Do We Need a Good Question (Aim)?
Before you can be a detective, you need to know what mystery you are trying to solve. In science, this is called the aim or the problem of the investigation. A good aim is like a clear map that guides you through your investigation. It tells you exactly what you want to find out.
Think about it: If you wanted to find out if plants need sunlight to grow, what would be your question?
"Do plants grow?" - This is a question, but it's too broad. We already know plants grow!
"Why are plants green?" - This is an interesting question, but it might be hard to answer with a simple experiment. It might involve looking at the chemicals inside the plant.
"Does sunlight help plants grow taller?" - This is a much better question! It's specific, and you can design an experiment to test it.
Characteristics of a Good Scientific Aim (Question):
A good scientific aim is:
Clear and Specific: It focuses on one particular thing you want to find out.
Testable: You can design an experiment or make observations to find the answer. You need to be able to measure or observe something.
Relevant: It addresses a real phenomenon or problem.
Feasible: You have the resources (time, materials, knowledge) to investigate it.
Let's break these down with examples.
1. Clear and Specific:
Imagine you are interested in how different types of balls bounce.
Not so good: "How do balls bounce?" (Too general)
Better: "How high does a basketball bounce compared to a tennis ball?" (More specific)
Even Better: "How does the height from which a basketball is dropped affect how high it bounces?" (Very specific, focusing on one factor)
2. Testable:
This is super important! You need to be able to measure or observe the answer.
Testable: "Does the amount of water affect how fast a toy boat moves?" (You can measure the speed of the boat.)
Not Testable (easily): "Are blue cars prettier than red cars?" (This is a matter of opinion, not something you can measure or test scientifically.)
Not Testable (easily): "What is the meaning of life?" (While a profound question, it's not something you can answer with a typical science experiment.)
3. Relevant:
Your question should connect to something you observe or wonder about in the world.
Relevant: "Does the type of soil affect how tall corn grows?" (This is relevant to farming and gardening.)
Less Relevant (for a simple experiment): "What is the favorite color of the moon?" (The moon doesn't have preferences!)
4. Feasible:
Can you actually do this investigation?
Feasible: "Does the temperature of water affect how quickly sugar dissolves?" (You can control water temperature and time how long it takes for sugar to dissolve.)
Not Feasible (for a Grade 7 student at home): "Does the gravitational pull of Jupiter affect the tides on Earth?" (This requires advanced physics knowledge and equipment.)
Turning Your Curiosity into an Aim:
Let's go back to the floating egg. You saw that the egg sank in plain water but floated in salty water. What questions could you ask?
"Why does salt make the egg float?"
"Does adding more salt make the egg float higher?"
"Does adding other things, like sugar, make the egg float?"
"Does the temperature of the water affect if the egg floats?"
Now, let's see which of these are good aims for an investigation.
"Why does salt make the egg float?" - This is a good starting question, but to make it testable, we need to be more specific about what we are measuring. We could rephrase it to focus on the amount of salt.
"Does adding more salt make the egg float higher?" - This is a GREAT aim!
Clear and Specific: It focuses on the amount of salt and how high the egg floats.
Testable: You can add different amounts of salt and measure how high the egg floats (or if it floats at a certain level).
Relevant: It explains the observation you made.
Feasible: You can do this with common kitchen items.
"Does adding other things, like sugar, make the egg float?" - This is also a good aim! You can test sugar, sand, or other substances.
"Does the temperature of the water affect if the egg floats?" - This is another good aim. You can test cold, room temperature, and warm water with salt.
Let's Practice Formulating Aims:
Here are some scenarios. Your task is to write a clear and testable aim for each.
Scenario 1: You notice that ice cubes melt faster in a glass of water than in a glass of oil.
Your curiosity: Why does ice melt faster in water?
Possible Aim: _________________________________________________________ (Think: What are you comparing? What are you measuring?)
Example Aim: "Does the type of liquid (water vs. oil) affect the time it takes for an ice cube to melt?"
Scenario 2: You are playing with different types of paper airplanes. You notice that some fly much farther than others.
Your curiosity: Why do some paper airplanes fly farther?
Possible Aim: _________________________________________________________ (Think: What could be different about the airplanes that affects how far they fly?)
Example Aim: "Does the number of folds in a paper airplane affect how far it flies?" or "Does the weight of a paper airplane affect how far it flies?"
Scenario 3: You observe that plants in a sunny window seem to grow better than plants in a shady corner of your room.
Your curiosity: Does sunlight really help plants grow?
Possible Aim: _________________________________________________________ (Think: How can you test the effect of sunlight? What will you measure?)
Example Aim: "Does the amount of daily sunlight affect the height of a bean plant?"
Understanding the "Aim" Section in a Scientific Investigation:
When scientists write down their plan for an investigation, the first step is always the "Aim" or "Problem." It clearly states what they want to find out.
Here’s how it looks in a plan:
Investigation Title: The Effect of Salt Concentration on Egg Buoyancy
1. Aim/Problem: To determine if increasing the amount of salt in water affects the buoyancy (how well it floats) of an egg.
See how that aim is clear and tells you exactly what the investigation is about?
Why Some Questions Aren't Good Aims for Simple Investigations:
Sometimes, we have questions that are interesting but hard to test with the tools we have.
"What is the fastest animal in the world?" - This is a factual question. You can find the answer by looking it up (research), but you can't easily test it in a simple experiment.
"Is it okay to eat too much candy?" - This is a question about health and making choices. While science can provide information about sugar and health, the "okay" part involves personal decisions and values.
"How does gravity work?" - This is a huge question in physics! Scientists have theories and models (like Einstein's theory of relativity), but a simple experiment might only show effects of gravity, not explain how it fundamentally works.
Connecting to the Particle Model (A Sneak Peek!):
Remember the "Science of Materials" topic? We learned that everything is made of tiny particles. When you add salt to water, the salt particles spread out among the water particles. This makes the water denser (heavier for the same amount of space). Because the salty water is denser, it can push the egg up more strongly, making it float! We'll learn more about this later, but notice how asking a good question helps us explore these tiny particle behaviors.
Planning Your Own Investigation:
Think about something you've wondered about recently. It could be about:
Plants in your garden
How your toys work
Cooking or baking
Weather patterns
Animals you see
Write down your question. Then, try to rephrase it so it becomes a clear, specific, and testable aim.
Example:
Initial Wonder: "Does the shape of a paper airplane matter?"
Refined Aim: "Does the wing shape of a paper airplane affect how far it flies?"
Guided Practice: Identifying Testable Aims
Read the following questions. Decide if each one is a good, testable aim for a scientific investigation. Write "Yes" or "No" next to each, and briefly explain why.
Does the color of a light bulb affect how much heat it gives off?
Answer: ______
Why: _________________________________________________________
Are dogs better pets than cats?
Answer: ______
Why: _________________________________________________________
Does the amount of fertilizer used affect the growth of tomato plants?
Answer: ______
Why: _________________________________________________________
What is the capital city of the Philippines?
Answer: ______
Why: _________________________________________________________
Does the surface area of an ice cube affect how quickly it melts?
Answer: ______
Why: _________________________________________________________
Interactive Activity: "Aim Maker"
Let's play a game! Imagine you have a set of "Observation Cards" and "Variable Cards."
Observation Cards: (Examples: A plant wilting, a ball bouncing, sugar dissolving, ice melting, a car moving)
Variable Cards: (Examples: Amount of water, type of liquid, temperature, amount of sunlight, surface area, number of folds, type of material, amount of salt)
How to Play:
Pick one Observation Card.
Pick one or two Variable Cards that you think might affect the observation.
Combine them to create a testable aim.
Example:
Pick Observation Card: "A plant wilting"
Pick Variable Cards: "Amount of water," "Amount of sunlight"
Possible Aim: "Does the amount of water affect how quickly a plant wilts?" OR "Does the amount of sunlight affect how quickly a plant wilts?"
Try it yourself! Imagine you have these cards and create three different testable aims. Write them down below.
Aim 1: _________________________________________________________________
Aim 2: _________________________________________________________________
Aim 3: _________________________________________________________________
Independent Practice: Crafting Your Own Aim
Think about one of the following topics or choose your own:
Bouncing balls
Melting ice
Dissolving substances (like salt or sugar in water)
Plant growth
Paper airplanes
Observe: Think about something you can observe related to your chosen topic.
Question: Ask a "Why?" or "How?" question about your observation.
Formulate Aim: Rewrite your question as a clear, specific, and testable scientific aim.
My Chosen Topic: _________________________
My Observation: _________________________________________________________
My Initial Question: _________________________________________________________
My Testable Aim: _________________________________________________________
Scientists and engineers use the skill of formulating good aims every single day.
Doctors: When a new illness appears, doctors ask specific questions like, "Does this new medicine reduce fever in patients with this illness?" Their aim is to test the medicine's effectiveness.
Farmers: Farmers might ask, "Does using a new type of fertilizer increase the yield of rice per hectare?" This helps them decide how to grow crops better.
Environmental Scientists: They might investigate, "Does the amount of plastic waste in a river affect the number of fish living there?" This helps them understand and protect ecosystems.
Food Scientists: They ask questions like, "Does changing the baking time affect the texture of bread?" to make tastier food.
Every invention, every medical breakthrough, every solution to a problem starts with someone asking a clear, testable question – the aim of their investigation!
Science is driven by curiosity and asking questions.
A scientific investigation needs a clear aim or problem to guide it.
A good scientific aim is clear, specific, testable, relevant, and feasible.
We can turn general curiosities into testable aims by focusing on specific variables we can measure or observe.
Formulating good aims is a fundamental skill used by scientists in all fields.
Observe your surroundings: Look around your home, school, or neighborhood. What do you wonder about?
Write down one question you have about something you observe.
Transform your question into a clear, specific, and testable scientific aim. Write it down below.
My Question:
My Testable Aim:
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