Chapter 1, Problem 3A

What are the steps of the scientific method?

To determine

To discuss: The steps of the scientific method.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

Scientific method is very essential for the progress of scientific theories that explains the particular questions on the natural world in a scientific manner. The procedure followed in observing, raising questions, and finding answers through experiments is not necessarily distinctive for any one field of science. There is no particular way to list the steps involved in scientific method. Most of the times it depends on the question or the problem to be answered and the field of science. Usually scientific method is put through in a linear way, but once the conclusion part is reached it may often get large number of questions and it may follow cyclic manner to conclude the results.

The most probable steps involved in scientific method are:

1. Observation − This is the first step followed in scientific method. This involves careful observation on something to be investigated.
2. Question − Once the observation is made, the questions to be formed that must tell about the things to be determine or achieve in the experiment. Thus the question must be as precise as possible.
3. Hypothesis − Making a hypothesis is the most significant part in the scientific method. It must contains the purpose of the experiment, details about the variables used, and the expected results of the experiment to be performed.
4. Experiment − After making a hypothesis, it is necessary to write a procedure that should clearly tell about the experiment.
5. Results − The results obtained from the experiments should be reported in this section.
6. Conclusion − This is the final step involved in the scientific method. The results obtained in the experiment should be concluded in this section. Whether the experiment supports the hypothesis or not should be clearly mentioned here.