LS+1+-+Science+Investigations+and+Experiments

 **__LS 1 - Science Investigations and Experiments__**  This is the first unit of the school year - it helps students practice the skills in LS 1, which cover creating and identifying scientific investigations and the different parts of experiments. We also go over the metric system, which practices measuring mass, volume, temperature and length. Use the following powerpoints and worksheets to practice some of your skills!!

        There are lots of different scientists out there - which one do you want to be? This powerpoint is a good introduction to several famous scientists throughout time and where their accomplishments have taken us! Be sure to check it out and follow along with these guided notes!

 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">If you're going to be a good scientist, you need to practice making observations and inferences - this is a really fun activity to practice your observational skills. I love watching my student's faces when the last slide comes up and I love hearing the stories that they come up with. Did you know that it could be a baby duck on a momma duck's back, not just a massacre? See what you come up with! When you're done, practice making your own inferences!

<span style="background-color: rgb(244, 226, 82);"> You can't escape the scientific method when being a scientist! It's always good to follow these 5 steps to make sure you don't miss anything! After going over these 5 steps, go through each powerpoint below to make sure you are being an excellent scientist!

<span style="background-color: rgb(241, 238, 59);"> When you start an investigation, you've got to make some observations first! Say for example, you want to see how different types of water will affect the growth of a plant. Before you actually start your experiment, you need to measure how tall each plant is at the beginning, how much water they will get, and how much soil each of them will be planted in. Scientists don't use the same standard system that the United States use - they use the International System of Units....but you can learn more about that in the powerpoint! Don't forget to practice with these worksheets as well :)

<span style="background-color: rgb(241, 245, 50);"><span style="background-color: rgb(241, 238, 59);"> <span style="background-color: rgb(241, 238, 59);"><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 216, 80);"> The second step of the scientific method is to write a good hypothesis and make a prediction about what you think will happen during your experiment. After going through the powerpoint, practice writing your hypotheses - remember to follow the formula!

<span style="background-color: rgb(241, 238, 59);"> After coming up with your hypothesis, you need to identify your variables - what you will change in the experiment and what will hopefully change because of what you change. There are 2 types of variables - the independent variable and the dependent variable. Use the powerpoint to learn more about these variables and then practice identifying them using these worksheets.

<span style="background-color: rgb(239, 206, 26);"> In an experiment, there are some essential parts of an experiment. Variables are important but it's also important to make sure that things stay constant within your experiment - all things except for your independent variable. A control is important to have as well so that you have something to compare your results to throughout your experiment. Read through the powerpoint and then practice identifying the different parts of the experiments in the following worksheets.

<span style="background-color: rgb(244, 228, 52);"> In every experiment, analyzing your data is easy if you know how to display and read it. This is where your graphs and charts come in but you need to know how to effectively create a good graph where others can read and interpret your data. Check out the different parts of a good graph and then practice reading and creating your own graphs - it can actually be a lot of fun!

When all is said and done, review and practice is ALWAYS a good thing. Use this powerpoint jeopardy game to test your knowledge of all things in LS 1. Got a test coming up? Try the study guide below for some guidance on what to focus on for the test!