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When scientists approach a question or a problem, they do it in a very simple and structured way. Therefore, when we try to answer questions in science, we give answers that we and other people can examine and either accept or reject, based on facts. The basic process is simple: This process gets repeated again and again. It’s never over. In fact, lots of things that we think of as facts are simply just conclusions, and science is always working to make sure that they’re as accurate and precise as possible. Any “truth” could be revised, if new evidence develops. This is the scientific method. So what, then, is a “hypothesis”? Most of us have a good sense of what this is, based on our years of schooling. But there are a few key points to remember about hypotheses: Read the scenario below and then analyze what is wrong with the hypothesis given. Read the scenario below and then write three of your own hypotheses about what is going on. Be sure to keep in mind the two characteristics of a good hypothesis discussed above. Very often, it is easier to figure out the effect something has if you have something to compare it to. As an example, if you were trying to determine what happens when you give chocolate cake to children, you might run into some trouble if you got a group of 10 kids together and then gave them all chocolate cake. If you observed what happened, you might never know if what you noticed was due to the chocolate cake or if it was due to some other factor (the particular kids you chose, the weather, their mood, your personality, etc.). One way around this problem is to create two groups that are identical in every way except for one; t

hat one difference is the that you manipulate. If you were to use the above example, you could take the 10 random children and group them into 2 sets of 5 kids (call the 2 groups A and B), being careful to make sure that there were about as many girls as boys, chubby and skinny kids, and tall and short kids. That way, you end up with 2 groups that look pretty identical to one another. So if you took Group A and gave them the chocolate cake, this becomes your . Group B will get no chocolate cake at all. Therefore, it is called the , since it is your comparison group. It is the group that receives no experimental treatment. Sometimes, people refer to the control group as the “normal” group, because it is supposed to represent a natural situation. So now when you compare Group A ( ) and Group B ( ), you can make some meaningful comments about what effects the chocolate cake (the ) had. Read the story below and identify the variable, the control group, and the experimental group. Now that you know a bit about the scientific method and hypotheses, examine this list of measurable body characteristics: First, come up with a good hypothesis about how any two of these 10 characteristics might be related to one another. Here is an example (do not use this hypothesis in your answer): After you have your own hypothesis on how two of the characteristics relate to each other, take measurements from people you know. You’ll need to collect data from at least real people. You also can count yourself in the sample. Be sure to include the person’s name next to the person’s data, and put it into a table in your lab assignment. The table might look something like this: