What are the steps of the scientific method?

Finding answers on our own

How can we find answers to our questions on our own? Science is not just memorising facts and figures, or doing experiments. It is about following a step-by-step process that helps us find answers. This process is called the scientific method, and you have probably used it already without knowing.

The pen that stopped writing

Suppose your pen stops writing:

1. You notice the problem: the pen has stopped writing.
2. You ask: “Why did my pen stop writing?”
3. You guess: perhaps the ink has finished.
4. You test the guess by opening the pen and checking the ink refill.
5. You look at the result. If the refill is empty, your guess was correct. If it is not, you make another guess, perhaps that the ink has dried up, and test that in another way.

This is exactly how science works.

The five steps

Step	What we do	Pen example
1. Observe	Notice something interesting, or something we do not understand	The pen has stopped writing
2. Ask a question	Wonder why or how it happens	Why did it stop?
3. Guess an answer	Think of a possible answer	The ink has finished
4. Test the guess	Do an experiment or make more observations	Open the pen and check the refill
5. Analyse the results	Check whether the result answers the question	Empty refill: yes. Ink left: make a new guess

(Extra: scientists call a guess that can be tested a hypothesis.)

When a guess is wrong

A wrong guess is not a failure. It tells us something: one possible answer has been ruled out, so we can make a better guess and test again. Scientists often go round this loop many times before they find an answer.

Everyday scientists

Scientists are people who follow the scientific method to solve problems or discover new things, but anyone who follows it is working like a scientist:

• a cook wonders why the dal spilled out of the cooker: was there too much water?
• a bicycle repairer tries to find where the air leaked out of a flat tyre;
• an electrician tries to find out whether a light bulb or its switch is faulty.

When we ask questions and find answers, we are all, in a way, scientists.

Try it yourself

Observe: the chapati in your tiffin is hard by lunchtime. Ask: why does it get hard? Guess: it dries out because air gets into the box. Test: one morning, pack one chapati in a tightly closed box and another in a box with its lid loose, and keep both in your bag. Analyse: at lunch, compare them. If the one in the closed box is softer, your guess is supported; if both are equally hard, make a new guess and test again.

Tips for young scientists

• Be curious and observe your surroundings keenly; questions start with what you notice.
• Ask how and why, and write your questions down.
• Test one guess at a time, so you know which change made the difference.
• Work together: scientists often work in large teams, and friends can help when you are stuck.

For what science is and why curiosity matters, read the Chapter 1 notes.