Nucleic Acids
Nucleic Acids
The scientific method is probably something you’ve used before AP Biology without realizing it. It’s one way to analyze the world around us. The scientific method is known as having five basic parts, which vary slightly depending on your source: observing, questioning, hypothesizing, experimenting, and concluding. Another common way of expressing the method is to first ask a question and do background research, then write a hypothesis, make a specific prediction, test it, and draw a conclusion. Occasionally you’ll see sharing the results as a sixth step.
Where did this all start?
The scientific method began, in many ways, in ancient Greece. Socrates began to analyze ideas and the world starting from a hypothesis. In fact, the Ancient Greek word “ hupóthesis” means “base,” as in a foundation. Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham (often referred to as Ibn al-Haytham, or Alhazan) was a Muslim scholar who stressed the importance of forming questions and testing them, which was further advocated much later on by Galileo. Though the process has evolved in its more clear definition, it’s been around a while, and now we have our few steps often used.
The Steps
The first step of questioning can refer to a very specific observation, such as “Why is grass green?” or it can more open-ended as in, “How can I cure cancer?” There may also be some research done in this step. Research may include gathering general background information that would be helpful in planning later steps of discovering answers to the question in mind, or perhaps looking over previous experimental data relating to the topic.
With the hypothesis, you are essentially making a guess as to the answer of that question. It can be quite a specific address to the question, or it may be a more broad conjecture. For example, if we’re looking into curing cancer, your hypothesis could be something along the lines of, “A plant is going to cure cancer,” or “this specific plant, whatever it’s called, will cure cancer.” A couple terms you may hear in the realm of hypotheses are null and alternative hypotheses. A null hypothesis is to guess that the statistical hypothesis (a guess about a population – maybe a test group for curing cancer and how a new drug will affect that group) is false. So if you think the drug will cure 100 of 100 people, the null hypothesis would say it wouldn’t. An alternative hypothesis relates to the desired outcome. The drug will cure all participants is an alternative hypothesis.
In the prediction stage of the scientific method, you determine exactly what it is you’re going to test. You want something that will be very unlikely to be found correct by simple coincidence. If you predict water will cure cancer, that water may contain trace elements that would affect the outcome. You’d be better taking
a look at a particular type of molecule that can be easily isolated (water can be isolated, but you understand).
When you test your hypothesis, you are essentially determining if the real world behaves in the manner you’ve guessed. Experimentation is the way to figure this out. Experiments must be precise in order to limit variables, as results will When you test your hypothesis, you are essentially determining if the real world behaves in the manner you’ve guessed. Experimentation is the way to figure this out. Experiments must be precise in order to limit variables, as results will
Once an experiment is complete, the results are analyzed and conclusions are drawn. Typically results aren’t considered conclusive until an experiment has been repeated many times. But hopefully all your time will pay off with data that shows a particular trend related to the dependent variable.
Now that you understand how to apply the scientific method, you can do this in many realms of your AP Bio class, as well as more in your own life. Wondering why you have bad luck on dates only on Friday nights? Want to know why the binding on every book but your science book is wearing away? Try it out!