Which steps are important when designing and conducting a scientific experiment?

Subject : Chemistry

Question: Which steps are important when designing and conducting a scientific experiment?

A) Hide the results from fellow scientists.

B) Identify the independent variable.

C) Eliminate all dependent variables.

D) Address any confounding variables.

E) Form a non-falsifiable hypothesis.

Expert Verified Solution:

The correct steps when designing and conducting a scientific experiment are:

B) Identify the independent variable.

D) Address any confounding variables.

Explanation:

B) Identify the independent variable.

This step is crucial because the independent variable is what the researcher changes or manipulates to observe its effects on the dependent variable. Identifying the independent variable is fundamental for a well-designed experiment.

D) Address any confounding variables.

Addressing or controlling for confounding variables is essential to ensure that any observed effects in the experiment are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor. This helps maintain the experiment’s validity and reliability.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A) Hide the results from fellow scientists.

This is not a good scientific practice. Transparency and sharing results with the scientific community are key aspects of the scientific method. Sharing results allows for peer review, replication, and validation of findings.

C) Eliminate all dependent variables.

This is incorrect because dependent variables are what researchers measure to determine the effect of the independent variable. Eliminating dependent variables would mean there is nothing to measure, making the experiment pointless.

E) Form a non-falsifiable hypothesis.

A non-falsifiable hypothesis cannot be proven false, which goes against the principles of scientific inquiry. Scientific hypotheses should be falsifiable, meaning they can be tested and potentially proven wrong. This allows for proper evaluation and validation of scientific theories.

Thus, identifying the independent variable and addressing confounding variables are important steps in designing and conducting a scientific experiment.