The Scientific Method

Instructor: George Smoot

The scientific method is usually outlined as follows:

• recognize that a scientific problem exists
• make an educated guess about the solution to the problem, namely, State a Hypothesis.
• predict the consequences, if the hypothesis is true. (Often it is the converse: find a marker that shows the hypothesis is incorrect.)
• perform experiments to see if the predictions occur
• formulate the simplest general rule that organizes the hypothesis, prediction, and experimental results into a Scientific Theory or Model