Today I'm going to discuss the Scientific
Method".
If you've taken a science class before you've
probably heard about the scientific method.
You may remember that it's the process that
is used by scientists when they want to prove
an idea.
Maybe you've participated in a Science Fair
wherein you had to show how you used the scientific
method to prove a hypothesis.
But I'll bet you've used the scientific method
a lot more than you even realize.
Everyone uses the scientific method all of
the time when they're trying to figure out
how something works.
It's a much more effective way of learning
than having a teacher say, "This is the way
things work."
Let's get something straight.
Babies are stupid.
Yup, I said it.
The fact of the matter is that babies really
only know how to do four things.
They sleep.
Cute, right?
And they know how to suck.
Still cute.
They poop.
Now we're getting a lot less cute.
And they sure know how to cry.
And cry.
And cry.
This is not cute.
That's really about the only things that a
baby knows how to do.
Babies have been called a "blank slate" because
they need to learn everything that they're
going to need to know.
So how do babies go from being a blank slate
to being smart, or really smart, or really
really smart?
How do they start to understand and think
on their own?
How do they go from not getting the facts
that things will fall down instead of up or
sideways to being able to design and build
complex machines?
Well, they have to learn it.
But how DO they learn?
We can't teach them by talking to them because
they don't understand.
Still, babies figure things out.
They start by watching things.
Everything is brand new to them, so they watch
and watch.
Not just people, either.
Everything.
And then they start to get ideas about how
to do things.
So they try out their ideas.
And they're usually not right the first time.
Or the second.
Or the third.
Now I don't even know if these kids are trying
to figure out hwo to get a drink, or use a
hose, or a phone or what.
But eventually they DO figure it out.
Ah!
It was the phone!
Before you know, the kids are wicked smart.
Scientists have taken this process that every
single one 
of us have used since birth and have done
what scientists do best, given it a really
boring name.
It's called the scientific method.
The scientific method has four basic parts.
First, we make observations and collect data
that leads to a question that we want to test.
This is called a hypothesis.
Or, if you have more than one question or
idea, they are hypotheses.
Next, we figure out a way to test the hypotheses
in ways that will either prove or disprove
them.
Really, the best experiments will try very
hard to disprove a hypothesis.
Once we test our hypothesis we need to look
at the data from the test and see if it lines
up with the hypothesis.
If not, we need to change our hypothesis and
test all over again.
Finally, we need to let others know what we've
come up with.
That way they can evaluate our data and results
and see if they agree or can come up with
an alternative hypothesis.
This can come in many forms, from showing
someone what we've learned (I can talk on
the phone!) to submitting a paper to a scientific
journal for review by other scientists.
Here's an example of my daughter testing hypotheses
about how to fit wooden blocks into holes.
She's seen me put the blocks into the holes
before, and she's also experimented with taking
all of our utensils out of the drawers in
the kitchen and sometimes putting them back
in.
She has an idea about how to put the block
in, but when that doesn't work, she has to
try a slightly different idea or a new hypothesis.
Eventually, she gives up.
You guys shouldn't give up.
Here's an example from the world of physics.
By 1911 we had figured out that atoms were
made up of positive and negative parts.
The theory at the time was that atoms were
structured like "plum pudding".
Most of the material was pudding, which had
a positive charge in the model.
However, there were negative objects, electrons,
that were like the chunks of plums floating
around.
If you haven't had plum pudding in a while,
you could also think of it like chocolate
chip ice cream.
The positive part would be the ice cream and
the negative part was the chocolate chips.
A man named Ernest Rutherford set up an experiment
to test if that model was correct.
He decided to shoot an X-ray through a thin
piece of gold and surrounded it with a screen.
If the plum pudding model was correct, the
X-rays would pretty much go straight through
the film and light up the screen behind the
gold film.
And mostly that's what happened.
But he also observed that some particles would
bounce off the gold at different angles, which
didn't agree with the model.
So he came up with a new model.
Rutherford's model showed the atom as mostly
empty space.
There was a hard nucleus in the middle with
tiny electrons flying around it, somewhat
like how the planets go around the sun.
This model would allow most X-ray waves to
pass right through the atoms and light up
the screen behind the foil.
But he also occasionally the X-ray would collide
with the nucleus, and bounce right back off.
Rutherford made observations of the existing
model of atoms, as well as the data about
the different parts of an atom.
This was the first step in the scientific
method.
And it led him to create an experiment to
see if that model was accurate.
That is the second step of the scientific
method.
The third step occurred when he realized the
results of his experiment were not consistent
with the existing model, so he had to change
his idea about the structure of the atom.
Finally, he published his results and his
new model for other scientists and engineers
to observe, test, and modify on their own.
Whether for children, scientists, students,
or in everyday life, the scientific method
remains our first and best way of learning
facts about the world around us.
Thank you for your time and attention.
