Scientific Investigations TEKS

Scientific investigations are processes used by scientists to gather information and answer questions about the natural world.

Two specific types of investigations include descriptive investigations and experimental investigations (see below).

These investigations involve making observations, asking questions, forming hypotheses, testing those hypotheses through experiments or observations, and analyzing data to draw conclusions.

In scientific investigations, scientists use a variety of tools and techniques to collect and analyze data.

This can include laboratory equipment such as microscopes, thermometers, and test tubes, or field equipment such as GPS devices, binoculars, and soil probes.

The goal of scientific investigations is to increase our understanding of the natural world and to develop new knowledge and technologies that can be used to solve problems and make predictions.

By conducting scientific investigations, scientists are able to develop new treatments for diseases, create new materials for construction, and improve our understanding of the universe and our place in it.

Scientific investigations are an essential part of the scientific process and are used in all branches of science, from biology to physics to astronomy.

They are important for advancing our knowledge and improving our lives, and they require patience, careful observation, and attention to detail.

Descriptive Investigations

Descriptive investigations have no hypothesis that tentatively answers the research question and involve collecting data and recording observations without making comparisons.

(more details coming soon)

Correlative and Comparative Investigations

Correlative and comparative investigations have a hypothesis that predicts a relationship and involve collecting data, measuring variables relevant to the hypothesis that are manipulated, and comparing results.

(more details coming soon)

Experimental Investigations

Experimental investigations involve processes similar to comparative investigations but in which a hypothesis can be tested by comparing a treatment with a control.

(more details coming soon)