Step 1: Ask a Question

Remember to think of a question you can answer with a simple experiment. You want to be able to change just one variable and measure the impact of that change. 

Step 2: Think of a Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a prediction or educated guess. What do you think the answer to your question might be. Can you test to see if you are right? If not, you might need a new question.

Step 3: Experiment Procedure

Plan an experiment and write down your steps. How will you test your hypothesis? 

Step 4: Collect Data/Observe

Run your experiment.

Don't forget to write down all the results of your experiment, even if they prove your hypothesis wrong! Some of the best scientific learning come from unexpected results.

Step 5: Conclusions

Analyze your data and synthesize what your results show. What did you learn? Are there any follow-up experiments you'd like to run to test your data further? If so, cool! 

Click here for some question ideas

Need a little more support? Have a question that you aren't sure how to test? 

Email pta4foothills@gmail.com and we'd love to help!