Scientific
Method
Overview and Examples
Example: Freezing Water
Consider how the scientific method applies in this
simple experiment with freezing water under two
different conditions.
Observation
I noticed my soda took a long time to freeze in the
freezer.
I want to know if water freezes faster on its
own or with sugar added to it.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that there will be a significant
difference in freezing time between the two
scenarios.
I hypothesize that the water with no
sugar will freeze faster
Experiment
1. Fill two identical containers with the same amount of room
temperature water.
2. Add a measured amount of sugar to one of the containers.
3. Place the two containers into the freezer.
4. At regular intervals of 15 minutes, open the
freezer and observe the status of the water in
each container.
5. Continue until both have completely frozen.
6. Write down the time it took for each container
of water to reach a fully frozen level.
Experiment
1. Fill two identical containers with the same amount of room
temperature water.
2. Add a measured amount of sugar to one of the containers.
3. Place the two containers into the freezer.
4. At regular intervals of 15 minutes, open the
freezer and observe the status of the water in
each container.
5. Continue until both have completely frozen.
6. Write down the time it took for each container
of water to reach a fully frozen level.
Data Analysis
Look at the time it took for each container of water
to freeze
Did the water with sugar added take a
significantly longer or shorter amount
of time to freeze?
Conclusion
Based on the results of your experiment, come to
a conclusion as to whether water with sugar
freezes faster, slower, or at the same rate as
water without sugar added.
Results
Report your findings in the form of a written report
or an oral presentation.
Depending on level of experiment
you could publish your results in a
scientific paper
More Uses
Medicine Delivery: Scientists use scientific Food Science and Nutrition: Nutritionists
method to determine the most effective way and food scientists use the scientific
of delivering a medicine to its target location method to study the effects of different
in the body. They perform experiments and food types and diet on health. They design
gather data on the different methods of experiments to understand the impact of
medicine delivery, monitoring factors such as dietary changes on weight, disease risk,
dosage and time release. and overall health outcomes.
Agricultural Research: Scientific method is Environmental Studies: Researchers use
frequently used in agricultural research to scientific method to study natural
determine the most effective way to grow ecosystems and how human activities
crops or raise livestock. This may involve impact them. They collect data on things
testing different fertilizers, irrigation methods, like biodiversity, water quality, and
or animal feed, measuring yield, and pollution levels, analyzing changes over
analyzing data. time.