Welcome to secondary school science — where asking good questions and testing ideas carefully matters as much as knowing the answers.
Scientific thinking means forming a question based on observation, proposing a testable explanation (a hypothesis), and then testing it carefully with evidence — rather than just guessing or assuming.
What makes an explanation 'scientific' rather than just a guess?
A scientific explanation can be tested with evidence and observation, and is open to being revised if the evidence doesn't support it
Science often begins with a careful observation that raises a question — noticing something unusual or unexplained is frequently the first step toward a scientific discovery.
Why is careful observation considered the starting point of scientific inquiry?
Because noticing something unexpected or unexplained is often what leads scientists to ask the questions that drive further investigation
1. What is a hypothesis?
2. Why must a scientific explanation be testable?
3. Name one quality that's useful for a budding scientist to have.
4. Is guessing the same as forming a scientific hypothesis?
5. Why might two scientists studying the same question reach different conclusions at first?