Introduction to the Scientific Method

Maureen P. Kall                Hillcrest H.S.
                               175th & Pulaski
                               Country Club Hills IL 60478
                               708-799-7000 (ext. 51)

Objectives:

The main objective of this lesson is to get the students involved in a class 
activity while introducing the process of the scientific method.

This lesson may be used on any grade level.  It may be used as just a problem 
solving situation or as a beginning class activity.

Materials Needed:

String - One piece per person (about 3 feet long)

Strategy:

1. Divide students into groups of two. 
2. Each student should tie the ends of their string into loops (big enough to 
put their hands into loops but small enough that the string will not be 
continuously falling off).
3. One person from the pair should place the string onto his/her wrists such 
that it resembles handcuffs with about two feet of string in between each of 
their hands.
4. The other member of the pair is to place one loop around one hand only. 
They are to then take the string and place it between their partners' body and 
their connected hands.  The student should then attach the other end of their 
string around their other wrist (see diagram 1).
5. The students should now be connected such that they must devise a plan to 
separate themselves from each other without removing the string from around 
their wrists.
6. You should then have the students write out their ideas on what they believe 
would be the best way to solve this problem using the first two steps of the 
scientific method.  (State the Problem and Form a Hypothesis)
7. Now using the third step (Testing the Hypothesis) the students are to try to 
untangle themselves by the methods they devised when forming their hypothesis.
8. After giving the students ample time to try to test their hypothesis they
are to finish their scientific method by either accepting or rejecting their 
hypothesis and forming a conclusion.

Performance Assessment:

As stated above the students are to write out for themselves how they are going 
to solve the problem using the scientific method.  Another problem may also be 
given to the student such that they are to try to solve the new problem using 
the method they just learned.

Conclusions:

It may be nice if you are able to show the students how to get separated from 
one another since most of them will be unable to do so.  The main trick is that 
you do not need to move yourself around at all which most of the students will 
find themselves doing (suggestion: tell the girls in the class that are wearing 
skirts or dresses that they will be unable to do the lab - this leads the 
students to believe that they have to manipulate their bodies in many different 
directions).  All that needs to be done is for one of the students to rotate 
their hands such that the string is perpendicular to their partners.  They are
to take the half of the string which is in the upper half and note which hand 
it is closer to on their own body.  They are to take that half and loop it 
through their partners wrist loop on the opposite hand of their partner (if the
string was closest to their own left they are to go through their partners' 
right). The loop should be pulled through the wrist loop in the direction of the 
person's fingertips.  Once the loop is pulled through the wrist loop it is to be 
pulled over their partner's hand.  The student should then be able to extract 
themselves from their partner by moving the string off to the side (see diagram 
2 on the next page).  If you try to do this and have any problems in solving it, 
feel free to call me. 

In the following diagrams assume that you are person 1 and that you are standing 
with your hands up, palms facing you.

Diagram 1
The following diagram shows the initial positions of the two students and their 
ropes: