- Identify a problem to solve or a question to answer.
- State a hypothesis about the problem.
- From the hypothesis, develop a prediction or a set of predictions.
- Set up and perform an experiment or make systematic observations to establish or refute the predictions.
- Duplicate the results in a variety of different contexts to establish the hypothesis as a law of nature.
- Likewise, state related hypotheses about other aspects of the problem and test their predictions.
- Rigorously verify the predictions under a wide variety of contexts and conditions to firmly establish the set of hypotheses collectively as a theory.
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- Do you wonder about something?
- Think of an idea about how it might work – be creative!
- If your idea is right, what things would happen?
- Check to see if they really happen.
- Check to see if they happen all the time in different situations – then you know you can rely on your idea.
- What other ideas do you have about how the thing might work? Check them out, just like before.
- Check to see if these things also happen in other situations your ideas apply to, that are kind of different from the thing you wondered about at first. If they do, then you can be sure that your ideas make a good explanation of the thing you wondered about.
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