Unit 1: How Science Works
The tools and habits scientists use to turn a curious question into a real, tested answer.
6 topics · 23 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
What Makes Something Science
- How it worksHow does a wild guess turn into a scientific idea once someone can actually test it?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a science fact just something a scientist says is true?
- Going furtherWhat happens to an old scientific idea when new evidence proves it wrong?
- Ties togetherHow does testing an idea until it fails connect to why science keeps changing over time?
Your turn1 of 2
A scientist says a claim is true, but nobody has ever been able to test it or prove it wrong. Does saying it confidently make it science?Observation vs. Inference
- How it worksHow does an observation turn into an inference once you add what you already know?
- How it worksWalk me through building several small observations into one solid inference about a footprint's owner.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a guess about why something happened the same thing as what you actually saw?
- Going furtherWhat happens to an inference the moment a new observation contradicts it?
Your turn1 of 2
You see wet grass in the morning and say 'it must have rained last night.' Is this statement an observation, or an inference?Forming a Hypothesis
- How it worksHow does a good hypothesis turn a question into an if-then statement you can actually test?
- Worked exampleFind the hypothesis hiding in this plan: plants given more sunlight will grow taller, so one plant sits in a closet and one sits by a window.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a hypothesis just a random guess with no thinking behind it?
- Going furtherWhat happens to an experiment's plan when the hypothesis turns out to be wrong?
Your turn1 of 2
A plan says: one plant sits in a closet, another sits by a window, and the prediction is that plants given more sunlight will grow taller. Which part is the hypothesis?Variables and Fair Tests
- How it worksHow do the independent, dependent, and controlled variables each play a different job in a fair test?
- Worked exampleFind the one variable that changed: two identical plants get the same water and soil, but one gets 2 hours of light a day and the other gets 8.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't it a fair test if you change the water and the sunlight and the soil all at the same time?
- Going furtherWhat happens to your results if you forget to control a variable you didn't even think about?
Your turn1 of 2
Two identical plants get the same water and the same soil, but one gets 3 hours of light a day and the other gets 10 hours, the one true variable that changed. Find the difference in hours of light between them.Measurement and Tools
- How it worksHow does picking the right tool, a ruler, a thermometer, or a scale, change how exact your data can be?
- Worked exampleFind the temperature change if a thermometer reads 15 degrees C in the morning and 27 degrees C in the afternoon.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't measuring something just once tell you the true number for good?
- Going furtherWhat happens to your data's reliability when you measure the same thing five times instead of once?
Your turn1 of 2
Find the temperature change if a thermometer reads 14 degrees C in the morning and 33 degrees C in the afternoon.Data, Evidence, and Conclusions
- How it worksHow does data from an experiment turn into a graph that tells a story at a glance?
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't one experiment that supports your hypothesis prove it's true forever?
- Ties togetherHow does today's conclusion become tomorrow's new hypothesis to test?
Your turn1 of 2
Why do scientists trust a pattern that repeats a hundred times more than a single lucky result?