The Scientific Method
This week’s Family Friday will deepen your student’s understanding of the scientific method. Read our step-by-step guide on how to use the scientific method to test how plants absorb water in this interactive activity!
What you need:
- 3 glasses
- Food coloring
- 3 celery stalks or flowers
- Pre-made printable work sheet and observation sheet (here)
*You can do this experiment with as many or as few plants/colors as you would like.
Step 1
Open your Footsteps2Brilliance App, and go to Level 3 (Blue). In the Physical Science and Engineering series, read the book The Scientific Method
Step 2
Fill each glass half-full with water.
Step 3
Place a few drops of food coloring in to each glass – one color per glass.
Step 4
Print out the premade worksheet and observation sheet (here).
Using the worksheet, write a hypothesis before placing the plants in the glasses.
Step 5
Place the celery or flowers in to each glass.
Step 6
Using the observation sheet, draw what happens over time and record their observations when you first put the celery or flowers in to the water, after an hour, after one day, and after two days.
Step 6
After two days, using the worksheet you wrote your hypothesis on, write your conclusion.
Hint: The colored part of the flower show where the water went and how a plant drinks.
Wow! You just conducted an experiment just like a real scientist would. Good job!