Writing a good hypothesis

Key words to know:

HYPOTHESIS, SCIENTIFIC METHOD, EXPERIMENT,
ANALYZE, DATA, CONCLUSION
Writing a good hypothesis is part of the scientific method.
What is a hypothesis?

The scientific method is a list of steps a scientist takes to answer a question.

The steps of the scientific method should be followed in order. They are:
1. Write a good HYPOTHESIS about something that makes you curious.
2. TEST your hypothesis by doing an EXPERIMENT
3. ANALYZE your experiment make observations and collect DATA what
happened during your experiment
4. Draw a CONCLUSION was your hypothesis correct? Why or why not?
5. Do you have any NEW questions now that your experiment is finished? This is a
good time to think of a NEW experiment for this same topic!
A strong hypothesis is always written like this:
"If I do this _____, then this_____ will happen."
You fill in the blanks based on the experiment you will do!
Lets try it!
Experiment #1:
Materials Needed:
1.

Bubble solution

2.

Pipe cleaners

3.

Water

4.

Pie pan

5.

Camera

Procedure:
1. Place a small amount of bubble solution in the pie pan
2. Carefully shape the pipe cleaners into at least three shapes. Draw those shapes
under the column labeled Shape of Blower.
STOP HERE: Form a hypothesis Do you think the shape of the blower
will change the shape of the bubble that is formed?

change the shape of the bubble

If I do this _________________________________________, then this will
blower
happen___________________________________________________.
3. Start blowing bubbles! Make sure you take pictures for your data.
Fill in your data table by drawing in the shapes of the bubbles that
form so that you can remember the details of what happened
during your experiment.
Data:
Shape of Blower

Shape of Bubble

______________________________

_____________________________

______________________________

_____________________________

______________________________

_____________________________

______________________________

_____________________________

______________________________

_____________________________

Observations:
Make a list of your observations here. Use your sight and hearing to describe what
is going on while you are performing your experiment.
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________

Analysis:
1. What did you learn during this experiment? Finish the
sentence.
I learned that if I change the shape of the bubble blower
then
_____________________________________________________________________
Conclusion:
1. Was your hypothesis correct? YES or NO. How do you know?
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Do you have a question about bubble shapes that you are
wondering about now that you are finished your experiment?
_____________________________________________________________________

The Presentation:
Now, lets make a presentation about what we discovered so that other people know
about our experiment?
The most important job of a scientist is letting people know what he or she found out
during the experiment!
EACH LAB GROUP will make a display (using poster board) to demonstrate what you
learned.
You should include:
1. What you guessed about the bubbles. (HYPOTHESIS)
Type out the complete statement of your hypothesis on a piece of paper
(or use your computer) and include it on the poster board
2. What you did with the blowers and solution. (EXPERIMENT)
BRIEFLY type up your experiment the teachers will help you with this
include this on the poster board

3. What shaped bubble each blower made. (ANALYSIS)

You should put your data table on the poster board you can cut it out
from the handout I gave you
Include pictures from your experiment
o At least 1 picture of your pipe cleaner shapes
At least 1 picture of your bubble shapes
Type a sentence about whether or not your hypothesis was correct
include it on the poster board

4. Was your guess correct about the bubbles? (CONCLUSION)

Type your answer to this question and include it on your poster board
Type any questions you and your group came up with and include it on your poster
board.
You MUST include the following words on your poster board: HYPOTHESIS,
EXPERIMENT, ANALYSIS, CONCLUSION
You MUST have a title for your experiment.
Look at some of these examples of science project poster boards. You should
include creative and interesting title and have lots of colors.