The Five Steps of the Scientific Method

The scientific method is a way to ask and find theworking.
answer to scientific questions by making observationsWhen you put it this way, the scientific method really
and doing experiments. Depending on which scienceisn't very complicated.
book you read, there are either four, five or six stepsA science project doesn't have to be complicated,
to the scientific method. (Doesn't sound very scientific,either. It's important to remember, however, that if
does it...) For the purpose of this post, we've decidedyou're doing a science project that is an experiment,
to take the average, and explain The Five Steps ofyou must follow the scientific method. And that's
the Scientific Method: Observation, Question,where the hard part comes in. The hardest part about
Hypothesis, Experimentation, and Results.doing a good project is actually finding a good project -
Suppose you Observe that your Nintendo DS isn'tone that requires you to Observe, Question,
working. You'll ask yourself the Question "What'sHypothesize, Experiment, and find Results. Many of the
wrong with my DS!?" Then you'll come up with ascience projects that you find online and in books are
couple of ideas, or Hypotheses: The battery could bedemonstrations. They don't follow the scientific method;
dead, the game could be dirty, or maybe the babythey are not truly experiments at all.
dropped it into the toilet. So you'll Experiment - youSo be careful about which science project you
check the battery, take out the game and blow outchoose. To help you search, get your free copy of
the dust, then check for signs of dried Cheerios andThe Non-Scientist Parent's Guide to Science Fair
wet spots. These experiments will hopefully lead youProjects. You'll learn more about how to find a science
to the Result, and you'll know why your DS wasn'tproject that are true experiments.