Scientific Inquiry

Has your computer ever failed to start? What did you do to try to fix it? First, you may have told yourself, "The computer will not start." Then you may have asked yourself, "Why?" After thinking about the situation, you may have predicted that there was something wrong with the power supply coming into the computer. You may have checked the cord going into the wall outlet and found that it was plugged in. Then, you checked the cord going into the computer and found that the cord was not completely plugged in. After finding this, you pushed the cord fully into the computer, pressed the power button, and the computer booted. You concluded to yourself to always make sure that both ends of the power cord are plugged in properly to the wall and to the computer.

In this situation, you used the scientific method, which is an approach to problem solving. You can even use the scientific method outside of science class!

The scientific method is an important process with several steps. This method takes place so that experiments can be shared and repeated across the world. In this interactivity, learn more about these steps by clicking on the numbered steps. Click the player to begin.

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Implementing the Scientific Method

You may know the steps of the scientific method, but what does the process look like in real life? In the interactivity that follows, click through the arrows in the upper right corner of the activity to examine an implementation of the scientific method. Take notice of how each part of the scientific method correlates with a part of the experiment. Click the player to begin.

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Scientific Method Review

Now that you have explored the scientific method, check your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Drag each description on the right and drop it next to the correct term on the left. Once you have made all your matches, click SUBMIT. Click the player to get started.