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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Requirements of Science - Testable

Our second to last requirement of science is 'testable'.  In science, controlled experiments can be designed to test the natural world.  We emphasized this idea in class today by designing some controlled experiments using the same scenarios we made predictions for yesterday (click here!).  We set up these experiments by making t-charts to show what factors we would change in the experiment (variables - there should be only one!) and what we would need to keep the same (constants).  After doing these scenarios together, we watched part of a Mythbusters episode, "Waterslide Wipeout."  While the episode played, we filled out another t-chart of all of the variables they were testing and the things they were keeping constant.

Waterslide Wipeout Part I
Waterslide Wipeout Part II - this part is just them building the slide; I didn't show it in class
Waterslide Wipeout Part III
Waterslide Wipeout Part IV

So if you are keeping track we are at...

  Consistent
  Observable
  Natural
  Predictable
  Testable
  T--------
... or CONPTT!

We will finish up with our last requirement of science tomorrow - any guesses what it might be?

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