Sinking and Floating
What are the steps of an experiment?
Goal:
Goal:
Now it is your turn to do your own scientific inquiry or experiment. Here is what you will need.
A pot or tub of water
Small items from around your home or classroom, that can get wet
Click through the slides to follow the steps of a scientific experiment.
Step 1: Get your materials ready.
Fill a pot with water and place various household objects around it. You can choose any items you want. Just be sure that they can get wet and that they are not bigger than the pot of water.
Step 2: Make a hypothesis.
Look at the objects. Which ones do you think will float? Which ones will sink? Predict what you think will happen. When you make a prediction, it is also called making a hypothesis.
Step 3: Test your hypothesis.
Choose one object at a time. Will it sink? Will it float? Place the object in the water and observe what happens. It does not matter if your hypothesis is correct or not. What is important is that you think about things, make your guesses, and try to understand!
4: Draw conclusions.
As you take the object out of the water, think about why the object sank or floated. This is called drawing a conclusion. Repeat these steps with each of the objects you chose. Can you see any patterns?
Question
Why do scientists make predictions before they do their experiments?
When scientists make predictions, they use information they know. When they experiment, they test if what they think they know is true.