Using the Scientific Method!

*Step One. Observe a Phenomenon.

You've already done this one! You're friend has found a dinosaur fossil in the nature center, and that's out of the ordinary.

*Step Two. Form a Hypothesis.

The hypothesis you might want to test could be a million different things! But what I'd want to know first is this:Are there any more dinosaur fossils in the nature center? But hypotheses should be statements so that we can prove them one way or the other. I would use this as my hypothesis.

Hypothesis: There are more dinosaur bones nearby in the nature center.

*Step Three. Design an experiment.

How would we test our hypothesis? This is one way I'd look for more fossils. First I would get a map of the nature center and I'd put a mark on the spot where my friend found the fossil. Then I'd get a few friends to go out and look with me. We'd start at the spot where my friend found the first fossil because there may be other parts of the same dinosaur nearby. Then we'd go out from that spot, looking closely at the ground until we a.) got too far away from each other to be good at covering all the ground we were supposed to be looking at, or b.) got tired and wanted to stop.

*Step Four. Conduct the experiment.

Next my friends and I would begin looking closely at the ground like I mentioned above.

*Step Five. Conclusion and/or Next Hypothesis.

If we found more bones our hypothesis would be correct! If we couldn't find more bones it would be because of two reasons: a.) our hypothesis was wrong and there weren't any more fossils there. or b.) our hypothesis was correct, but we didn't carry out the experiment thoroughly enough to find the bones that were there. Scientists run into both of these problems all the time, but the mark of a talented researcher is his/or her ability (and gumption!) to go back and change their experiment and try it again. Of course, if we had found more fossils the second time, we'd be thrilled! But our work wouldn't be done then, either. I, for one, would want to know more about the bones I had found and come up with more hypotheses I could test about them. One of my next hypotheses would be this:

Hypothesis: These bones belong to the same dinosaur.

(I'd be really curious to know if my friends and I had found more than one dinosaur!)

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