2.1 Introduction

§ 2.1 How do the scientists know what they know?

When it comes to gathering information, scientists usually rely on the scientific method.

The scientific method is a plan that is followed in performing a scientific experiment and

writing up the results.

It is not a set of instructions for just one experiment, nor was it designed by just one person.

The scientific method has evolved over time after many scientists performed experiments and wanted to communicate their results to other scientists. The scientific method allows

experiments to be duplicated and results to be communicated uniformly.

As you’re about to see, the format of the scientific method is very logical. Really, many

people solve problems and answer questions every day in the same way that experiments

are designed.

In the next paragraphs, you will learn what the different steps of the Scientific Method are

and you will get a chance to do some scientific research.