This post will be all about the Scientific
method and applying it to real scientist. First off The Scientific Method, as
defined by ScienceBob.com, is an organized way of figuring something out in
which there are usually six parts. The first is of those is finding out the
purpose/question for what you are doing. Ask what do you want to learn? An
example would be, "What doorknob in school has the most germs?" or
"Do girls have faster reflexes than boys?" The next step research; find
out as much as you can. Look for information in books, on the internet, and by
talking with teachers to get the most information you can before you start
experimenting. Thirdly is to form a hypothesis. After doing your research, try
to predict the answer to the problem. Now conduct your experiment. Design a
test or procedure to find out if your hypothesis is correct. Fifth is to make
an Analysis. Making sure to record what happened during the experiment. Last is
the conclusion. Review the data and check to see if your hypothesis was
correct. If your hypothesis is wrong, it is not "bad" if your
hypothesis was wrong.
Now to check to see if scientists
are putting the practice to the theory I decided to interview a real scientist.
This man is a personal friend of mine and he might be the greatest rapper alive
one day. This man is Zachary Tucker of Bellarmine University also sometimes
referred to as Fresh Duh Chemi$t. Interviewing future Dr. Tucker I asked him
about how he went about designing an experiment in the realm of chemistry. He
started off by telling me that there are specific procedures to take into
consideration when designing an experiment. He told me to “Start off by having
a goal of what you want to achieve or further your knowledge of.” I thought
this to be in line with the first step of the scientific method. Next he told me
to “Do background research on the subject if there is any.” He also added that
there is almost always background info including the likes of previous
experiments and results as well as preexisting theories. He told me that next
he likes to think of the equipment he will need for the experiment. He says
thinking of this ahead of time allows for you to be, and I quote, “As cost efficient
as possible.” Science is expensive and you can’t afford to ruin an experiment
by not having everything or having too much and wasting it. Next there needs to
be a procedural write up for documentation, “so that replication is possible.”
Lastly was to analyze your data and interpret the results. “While interpreting
the data remember to be conscious of sources for error.”
That’s it for this post. We learned
of the methodical approach to sciencing, which isn’t a word yet, and we heard
from a very talented future scientist in Dr. Tucker, when it is a recognized word.
After the interview I can say surely that future Dr. Tucker does in fact use
his own form of the scientific method. It follows very closely in line with the
definition from ScienceBob.com. So keep in mind there are variations as well as
different definitions but for our purposes I think we nailed it.
