The Science of Breakable Things

Natalie structures her notebook by naming its parts after the steps of the scientific method, which involves asking questions, obtaining data, and analyzing the data to draw conclusions. The scientific method emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries during the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment and was formalized by scientist-philosophers René Descartes and Francis Bacon. The method helps scientists use inductive reasoning to learn the truth about something, rather than relying on preconceived notions about how things work.

The scientific method involves following a set of steps, which can vary slightly, depending on the specific experiment or set of experiments. However, the basic process of the scientific method is as follows:

1.   Observe (gather information)

2.   Ask a question

3.   Form a hypothesis

4.   Make a prediction

5.   Test the hypothesis by performing a procedure or experiment

6.   Repeat the experiment more times if necessary

7.   Analyze the results

At a few points throughout her process, Natalie pauses to complete additional “investigative research” and redirect appropriately. At first, she doesn’t know the right research question to ask. Later, she realizes that she drew conclusions based on faulty data. This reflects the process followed by real scientists. The scientific method is important to Natalie both because she is learning about it at school and because her mother is a botanist who used to talk frequently about science and the importance of asking questions.