Join students Sophie, Tomás, Emma, and Marcus during Fifth Period! This STEM comic strip chronicles the exciting and often hilarious adventures of a close-knit group of four friends as they learn about science, technology, engineering, and math from their kooky, inspiring, off-the-wall science teacher, Mr. Kepler. When they're not in class, these kids love to explore the vast world of STEM on their own, launching weather balloons, programming computer games, and cataloging insects, sometimes with unpredictable and highly entertaining results!
Check back on the first and third Friday of every month for a new Fifth Period strip!
Sophie's Scientific Method
What did Sophie find out from her experiment with the plants? (You know, besides the fact that she owes Tomás a new backpack!) She discovered that soil from around the old nuclear power plant is more fertile than regular old soil from the schoolyard. She was able to do this by comparing the two, using a process called the scientific method. The scientific method has been used for centuries to make some of the world's greatest discoveries!
Here are the steps to Sophie's Scientific Method:
- She asks some questions: "Is some soil more fertile than other types of soil? Which is more fertile, soil from the schoolyard or soil near the old nuclear power plant?"
- She makes a hypothesis: "Soil near the old nuclear power plant is more fertile than schoolyard soil."
- She makes a prediction: "If the power plant soil is more fertile, then seeds planted in it will develop into larger, healthier plants."
- She tests her hypothesis: "I'll plant seeds in soil samples from both the schoolyard and the old nuclear power plant, and I'll see which samples grow larger plants!"
- She analyzes her results: "Soil near the power plant is not only more fertile than schoolyard soil; it is also more likely to turn your seeds into classmate-eating monsters."
Try it yourself!
Sophie wants to figure out how to tame her new "pet." What steps should she take to figure out what it responds to?