B. Inquiring and designing

B. Inquiring and designing

When students design a scientific investigation they should develop a method that will allow them to collect sufficient data so that an open-ended problem or question can be answered. An open-ended problem is one that has several independent variables appropriate for the investigation and has sufficient scope to identify both independent and controlled variables. In order to achieve the highest level for the strand in which students are asked to design a logical, complete and safe method, the student would include only the relevant information, correctly sequenced.

In order to reach the aims of sciences, students should be able to:

i. explain a problem or question to be tested by a scientific investigation

ii. formulate a testable hypothesis and explain it using scientific reasoning

iii. explain how to manipulate the variables, and explain how data will be collected

iv. design scientific investigations.