Scientists carry out scientific investigations to try to answer questions. A scientific investigation follows a general plan called the scientific method. The scientific method is a series of logical steps for testing a possible answer to a question.     The steps of the scientific method are described below. Note that these steps are meant as a guide, not a rigid sequence.     - Make observations. Observations refer to anything detected with one or more senses.     - Ask a question raised by the observations.     - Form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a potential, testable answer to a... Show more

Scientists carry out scientific investigations to try to answer questions. A scientific investigation follows a general plan called the scientific method. The scientific method is a series of logical steps for testing a possible answer to a question.    
The steps of the scientific method are described below. Note that these steps are meant as a guide, not a rigid sequence.    
- Make observations. Observations refer to anything detected with one or more senses.    
- Ask a question raised by the observations.    
- Form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a potential, testable answer to a scientific question.    
- Test the hypothesis. Make predictions based on the hypothesis and then determine if they are correct. This may involve carrying out an experiment.    
- Analyze the results of the test and draw a conclusion. Do the results agree with the predictions? If so, they provide support for the hypothesis. If not, they disprove the hypothesis.    
- Communicate the results. This can be done in posters, papers, or publications. Communicating the results allows other scientists to try to replicate them.    

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