Apologia General Science, Module 2, Scientific Inquiry

►Videos and resources for this module

We learned that sometimes an experiment seems to "prove" something, but actually has faulty results.
I put 'prove' in quotes because we also learned that science cannot prove anything!

In Experiment 1.1, How Does Weight Affect the Speed at Which an Object Falls? the kids dropped several items to see which would hit the ground first.  I divided them in teams of two.  The experiment called for a sheet of paper, a sheet of cardstock, a sheet of cardboard, and a heavy book.  All needed to be about the same length and width.  Well, I wasn't about to let the kids drop books, so we used 4 small removable shelves that I had.  And we dropped them on the carpet, of course.
This experiment seemed to indicate that heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects, but that was shown to be incorrect with our next experiment.

Experiment 2.2 called for the same items and added in a small rock and a paperclip.  This time, however, the kids were to ball up the sheet of paper.  This experiment showed that only because of wind resistance did the sheet of paper fall slower before.  Now it would hit the ground at about the same time as the other objects.
So we learned that in the absence of air, all objects fall at the same rate.  Well, there is air all around us, so you need to look at the object being dropped and consider the wind resistance it will encounter.

So, this second experiment was a counter-example.  A counter-example contradicts a scientific conclusion.  This is very important.  Scientists are discovering new information all the time - and it only takes one counter-example to contradict a conclusion that may have been accepted for many years!

We did not do Experiment 2.3, The Broken Flashlight, simply because I didn't have enough time to "fix" everyone's flashlights.

We did do D & T (you aren't supposed to know what the letters mean until afterwards).
In D & T, the kids had 22 words written on cards that made up one long sentence.  I printed them on cardstock in a light color so they would not show through when turned over.  I had 4 teams, so I did 4 different colors to keep the sets of words separated (mainly for me while I was getting them together!)

The kids turned over 5 words and wrote them down on this worksheet, then made a hypothesis as to what they thought the sentence was about.  Each student had their own worksheet.  I told them not to worry over whether they are right or wrong;  a hypothesis is what you think is the answer.  They turned over 5 more cards, and naturally, their hypotheses changed.  This is the way of experiments.  As you gain more knowledge, your hypothesis will change.  They continued turning over 5 cards at a time until all were turned over.  All 4 teams had different hypotheses, and some were very funny!  This sentence had several phrases and several adjectives, so it could go in many directions.
It was so fun, but I don't want to give it away.  You'll just have to try it yourself.  =)

We also did the Scientific Method in Action.  These were two real examples so the kids got to see how science really works, not just playing around with a sentence.  First we read a little about beriberi and about a scientist who had a hypothesis.  The kids answered questions about what was the hypothesis, how was it tested, should the hypothesis be supported or rejected based on the results, and should there be a new hypothesis, etc.  Then we read a little about the discovery of penicillin and answered similar questions.
Here is also Scientific Method Explained.




These experiments are simple, but are meant to show that a counter-example can refute a hypothesis, a hypothesis may then need to be changed, and that as you get more information, your hypothesis will change or be confirmed.

sMiLeS,