How do scientists investigate?
Wow, very broad question. Basically, when observing something, scientists start to form an idea about why something happens. This idea is called a hypothesis. From the hypothesis, the scientist thinks of experiments to see if the hypothesis is valid. Mostly, they consist of keeping conditions the same, and vary one of them, to see if the changed condition has an effect. This is the testing stage. If the experiments contradict the hypothesis, then the hypothesis has to be modified, and further tests have to be performed to see if the new hypothesis is correct. And as more research is done, more information for hypotheses becomes available. If the hypothesis is accepted, based on the experiments, it is called a theory. Experiments depend on the question posed. It could involve the testing of a new antibiotic on bacteria, to see which ones are affected, or how well they are affected, for a biochemistry experiment. It can include the synthesis of new chemicals, or improving the methods for
