Scientific Skills and Processes
1. OBSERVING
Stating the properties or characteristics of an
object or event.
Kinds of Observation
• Physical Description
• Measuring or Counting
2. COMPARING
Recognizing similarities and differences in the
properties of objects and living things observed.
3. CLASSIFYING
Process of arranging, grouping or sorting things
according to some observable properties
they possess.
Can you group the following animals according
to their properties?
4. INFERRING
Logical mental process wherein one makes
explanations based on observations.
What can you say about the picture?
OBSERVING VS. INFERRING • The sky appears
red.• The sun is going
down the horizon.• There are four
people in the picture.• It is near dusk.
• The four people are in a resort island.
OBSERVING VS. INFERRING
5. PREDICTINGProcess of
estimating or forecasting a
future event or trend based on
previous experiences or
observation
Which figure should come next?
Process of predicting data or events within the graph of the given data
Process of predicting data or events beyond the scope of the given graph of the data
048121620242832
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
time (second)
dist
ance
(met
er)
What is the distance when the time is 4 seconds?
048121620242832
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
time (second)
dist
ance
(met
er)
What is the distance when the time is 12 seconds?
6. MEASURING
Process of quantifying
observations or properties of
objects
MEASUREMENTCOMPARING A QUANTITY TO
AN APPROPRIATE SCALE OR STANDARD
Closeness of a measured value to the true value
Degree of agreement between several values obtained under the same conditions
Neither accurate nor precise
Given 3 darts:
Precise but not accurate
Both accurate and precise
How is the accuracy and precision of measurements
determined?
• Given the following experimental data for the density of water:
Density (g/ml)
1 0.962 0.993 1.004 1.02
If the accepted value for the density of water is 1.00g/ml, which measurement is the most ACCURATE?
Density (g/ml)
1 0.962 0.993 1.004 1.02
Average: 0.99 g/ml
Get the average.
7. Formulating the Problem
• Be stated beginning with the words Why and How.
• Contain the subject of the research.• Indicate the variable/s being tested and
the corresponding responding variable/s• Give its readers an idea of what the
experiment is about.
8. Making a Hypothesis• An educated guess to a problem
Example:
What causes the spoilage of food?Why does the heartbeat of a person vary?
9. CONTROLLING VARIABLES
Factors that affect the behavior or properties of an object or event
Example:What conditions affect the
growth of plants?Amount of fertilizerType of soilAmount of waterAmount of sunlightKind of plant specie
These are all
VARIABLES !
KINDS OF VARIABLES
• MANIPULATED
• CONTROLLED
• RESPONDING
Example: How does the amount of fertilizer affect the growth of a
tomato plant?
Manipulated Variable
Responding Variable
Controlled Variable
10. ORGANIZING DATA• PRESENTATION OF THE DATA FOR ANALYSIS
Pictorial representation of data
Making a data table
• Make a data table• Identify the variables
• Foliage/leaves broom, roofing• Nuts/fruits food, drinks, husks• Roots disinfectant, medicine,
driftwood• Cellulose paper, plywood• Lumber toys, posts, fuel
A group of students made a survey of the products derived from coconut trees. They came up with the following data:
Products obtained from parts of the coconut tree
Part of the coconut tree
Product
Foliage/leaves broom, roofing
Nuts/fruits food, drinks, husks
Roots disinfectant, medicine, driftwood
Cellulose paper, plywood
Lumber toys, posts, fuel
Interpreting tables and graphs
Interpreting tablesNumber of marbles Levels of water
0 501 522 543 566 629 68
13 76
As the number of marbles increases, the level of water also
increases.
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
32
36
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
time (s)
velo
city
(m/s
)Interpreting graphs
11. DERIVING CONCLUSIONS
• A STATEMENT
OF THE ANSWER TO
THE PROBLEM OF THE
EXPERIMENT
Bread Type
Condition of Result
Moisture Sunlight
Temperature
AMoistene
dExpose
dNear the window
Plenty of
molds grew
B Dry No molds grew
Example: Given the following data table:
Bread Type
Condition of ResultMoisture Sunlight Temperatur
eA
MoistenedExposed Near the
window
Plenty of
molds grew
B Dry No molds grew
Identify the manipulated
variable.
Bread Type
Condition of Result
Moisture Sunlight
Temperature
AMoistene
dExpose
dNear the window
Plenty of
molds grew
B Dry No molds grew
Identify the responding
variable.
Bread Type
Condition of Result
Moisture Sunlight
Temperature
AMoistene
dExpose
dNear the window
Plenty of
molds grew
B Dry No molds grew
State the best problem for the experiment
How does moisture affect the appearance of molds in bread?
Bread Type
Condition of Result
Moisture Sunlight
Temperature
AMoistene
dExpose
dNear the window
Plenty of
molds grew
B Dry No molds grew
What is the conclusion of the experiment