2.4 Example

PUTTING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD TO PRACTICE

Step 1: Problem/ Question

John watches his grandmother bake bread. He asks his grandmother what makes the bread rise. She explains that yeast releases a gas as it feeds on sugar.

John wonders if the amount of sugar used in the recipe will affect the size of the bread loaf?

Step 2: Observation/ Research

John researches the areas of baking and fermentation and tries to come up with a way to test his question. He keeps all of his information on this topic in a journal.

Step 3: Hypothesis

After talking with his teacher and conducting further research, he comes up with a hypothesis.

“If more sugar is added, then the bread will rise higher.”

Step 4: Experiment/ Test

John writes out his procedure for his experiment along with a materials list in his journal. He has both of these checked by his teacher where she checks for any safety concerns.

Independent Variable: John is going to use 50g, 60g, 70g, 80g, and 90g of sugar in his experiment.

Dependent Variable: The size of the loaf of bread

Control Group: Because his grandmother always used 50g of sugar in her recipe, John is going to use that amount in his control group.

Constants: Other ingredients to the bread recipe, oven used, rise time, brand of ingredients, cooking time, type of pan used, air temperature and humidity where the bread was rising, oven temperature, age of the yeast…

Step 5: Collect and Analyze Data

John comes up with a table he can use to record his data.

John gets all his materials together and carries out his experiment.

Step 6: Conclusion

John examines his data and notices that 70g of sugar produces the largest loaf. The result at 70 g is better than at 50 g of sugar, his control group. => His hypothesis is accepted.

Step 7: Communicating the Results

John tells his grandmother about his findings and prepares to present his project in Science class.