1. Observation-- state problems, identify questions, research about issue
2. Hypothesis-- possible explanation or answer based on prior knowledge and research, not based on experimental evidence
3. Prediction-- specific statement concerning outcome or experiment ('if, then' format)
4. Experiment-- groups- experimental: experience change...control: don't experience change, are compared to experimentals...variables- independent: what changes (only one per experiment)...dependent: measured part of experiment...controlled: everything is kept the same between all groups...uncontrolled: reliable--have only one independent variable and consistent results--valid: experiment topic matches hypothesis
5. Results-- collect, organize, analyze data
6. Conclusion-- summarize findings, application, error identification, cannot prove a hypothesis to be true, only provide supporting evidence...hypothesis can lead to a theory with enough evidence, and a theory can lead to a law after a load of experiments and no alternate explanations