OVERVIEW:
The main emphasis of this activity is to introduce students to “the
scientific method.” After some exposure to the terms used to describe
the scientific method, students will conduct a paper airplane experiment in
which they use all the methods of science. Students will work in groups of
four for their experiment.
TERMS
USED:
Process related—wonder,
observation, hypothesis, comparison, classification, prediction, independent
variable, dependent variable, inference, qualitative data, quantitative data,
measurement, control, experiment, replication, repeated trials, methods, procedure
Content related—animal
adaptations, habitats
OUTLINE
OF ACTIVITY:
Slides, demonstrations, and student volunteers are used in the first half
of the activity to acquaint students with science as a discipline and the
methods used by scientists to learn about the world. A large science poster
in the lab will be used to teach some of the terms that are commonly used
to describe the scientific method, such as observation, hypothesis, prediction,
and experiment. The introduction will be followed by a class demonstration
where the instructors and the class teacher demonstrate how the scientific
method can be used to conduct a paper airplane experiment. We will provide
several planes of a basic design that vary in size, the person who throws
them, and paper weight. These will be thrown to convey ideas about observing,
repeated trials in experiments, and the nature of variables. We will stress
that without preliminary observations, it is impossible to come up with questions.
The students will then conduct their own paper airplane experiment. Students will work in groups of 4, with each student performing different tasks during the experiment (plane thrower, data recorder, and measurer). Each group will be assigned one of six plane designs, each representing an animal with a particular mode of flying or gliding (e.g., eagle, hawk, flying squirrel, bat, dragonfly, grasshopper). All plane flights will be compared to a control design that is designated at the beginning of the experiment. Students will throw their airplanes more than once, and we will discuss the need for replicates or repeated trials in experiments. Once all groups have conducted the experiment we will all gather for a “science seminar” to discuss the results and demonstrate how data can be analyzed. We will reiterate the concepts of variation, repeated trials, control, and hypothesis—all parts of the scientific method.
