Name: _____________________________ Date:________________ Period:_____

The Scientific Method

Choose the step of the scientific method in Column B that best matches the example in
Column A, and write the corresponding letter in the space provided.
Column A
_____ 1. Write an article describing what you learned about the
ant population on school grounds.
_____ 2. Last week there were no ants near the front door of
our school. Now there is a large colony. Where did
the colony come from.
_____ 3. I think someone released ants from their ant farm
near the front door of our school.
_____ 4. There are a total of three ant colonies on the school
grounds. Four of the 10 residents who live near the
school also have ant colonies in their yard. The
residents are neighbors; they live next door to one
another on the same side of the street. None of the
residents has ever owned an ant farm. None of the
students surveyed had any information about where
the ants came from.

Column B
a. Ask a question.
b. Form a hypothesis.
c. Test the hypothesis.
d. Analyze the results.
e. Draw conclusion.
f. Communicate results.

_____ 5. Evidence seems to indicate that our rivals, the

Hornets, placed the ant colony on our school grounds.
_____ 6. I am examining the school grounds and surveying
students and nearby residents for information about
where the ants came from.
After reading all of the steps in the scientific method described in questions 1 6 above, do
you agree with the conclusion? Why or Why not?
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Adapted from Holt Reinehart and Winston