The scientific method

Science is not just memorising facts, and not just doing experiments. It is a step-by-step way of finding answers to our questions. This way is called the scientific method.

Your book gives five steps, in this order:

• Observe: we notice something interesting, or something we do not understand.
• Ask a question: this makes us wonder, and we think of a question about it.
• Guess: we guess a possible answer to the question. (Scientists call such a guess a hypothesis.)
• Test: we test the guess through experiments or more observations.
• Analyse: we look carefully at the results to see if they really answer our question.

Here is the method at home. You press the TV remote and nothing happens (observe). Why is the remote not working (question)? Perhaps the cells are dead (guess). You put in new cells (test). It still does not work, so that guess was wrong (analyse).

Do not give up when a guess is wrong. Make a new guess and test that one. Perhaps dust is covering the little bulb at the front of the remote. You wipe it clean, press again, and the TV turns on. Now the results answer the question.

So the order is always: observe, ask a question, guess, test, analyse. Scientists follow these steps, and so can you.