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    • 2013 Publication

The Scientific Approach
​by Zoe Mercado('20)

In the very first unit of my tenth-grade chemistry class, we learned about the “scientific approach”, a successful method used by scientists to answer questions or solve a problem. Step one of the scientific approach is to make an observation. Recognize the problem and state it clearly. Step two is to formulate a hypothesis and propose possible solutions to the problem or explanations for the observation. Step three is to perform an experiment and then decide the best solution to the problem or whether the explanation is reasonable (A. Lurain, personal communication, September 25, 2017). A common misconception is that to be a scientist or use the scientific approach, you need a lab coat and goggles. However, everyone subconsciously uses the scientific approach in everyday life to solve problems. Let’s say you’re really craving grapes and you go to the fridge to fulfill this craving. Then you find out there are no grapes left. You have already done step one of the scientific approach. The problem is that there are no grapes. You immediately start thinking of ways to get grapes, ‘I could buy some from the nearby grocery store’. Now you’ve done step two of the scientific approach. A possible solution is to buy grapes. You go to the grocery store buy a pack of grapes, and when you get home you eat them and your craving is satisfied. Step three of the scientific approach is done, you’ve decided that buying grapes from the grocery store would be the best way to get grapes. Or even simpler, a problem of a typical Packer student would be feeling hungry at 12:20 PM (step one). You think to yourself I could either go out for lunch or stay in (step two). You go down to the cafeteria and see that there’s pulled pork for lunch but you don’t like pork, and you decide that going out for lunch would be the best solution to satisfy your hunger (step 3). With this term being more widely known, people would not feel less intimidated by the term “science”, but many political and social concerns could be addressed a lot more efficiently. In the current political climate, Americans often can’t get past step two of the scientific approach. After the Parkland Shooting, as a country we recognized that school shootings were a problem. Given the diversity in this country, the people of the United States have very different ideas for a solution. Some popular propositions have included tighter gun control, banning guns (repealing the second amendment), arming teachers, and airport-like security in schools (Amos, 2018, Sections 2, 5, 6). With these possible solutions out in the open, president Donald Trump and his administration have not proceeded to step three, the step to make this country safer. Not only as a country, but as a human society we need to embrace the concept that progress cannot happen without change. Whether small, like buying grapes, or large, like arming teachers, the scientific approach is an efficient way to solve problems and create the changes needed to make the world a better and maybe even a safer place.

References
​Amos, O. (2018, February 20). BBC News. Six radical ways to tackle US school shootings. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43118865
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  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • HOW TO SUBMIT
  • Past Publications
    • 2019 Publication >
      • Scientific Research
      • Mathematical Exploration
      • Scientific Exploration
      • Computer Science
    • 2018 Publication >
      • Artistic Creations
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Exploration
      • Scientific Research
    • 2017 Publication >
      • Artistic Creations
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Exploration
      • Reactions and Responses
      • Scientific Research
    • 2016 Publication >
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations
      • Scientific Research
      • Reactions and Responses
      • Artistic Creations
    • 2015 Publication >
      • Historical and Current Explanations >
        • Bell Curves
        • Birds Vs. Turbines
        • Energy in the Obama Era
        • The Future of Neuroscience
        • Gender Gap in Math
        • GMOs--Yes or No?
        • The History of Minecraft: How a Swedish Indie Game Came to Dominate the World
        • The Effect of Prozac on the Brain
        • Philae Lander's Discovery of Organic Molecules
        • Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Turbines
        • Your Own Worst Enemy: An Overview of Lupus
        • The Methylhex Ban
        • The Effect of Lyme Disease on the Immune system
        • Infectious Mononucleosis
        • Replacing CFCs
        • The Switch
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
        • The 43rd Figure
        • The Clock
        • The Collatz Conjecture
        • Constructing a Soccer Ball
        • Determining how Ballparks Affect Batter's Ability to Create Hits
        • The Rotating Conundrum
        • Pythagorean Puzzle
        • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations
        • Kinetics Lab
        • Math in the Restaurant Business
        • Math as a Vessel for Social Change
        • Sustainability of Bottled Vs. Tap Water
        • Thoughts on the Lottery
        • Understanding Player Efficiency Rating
      • Scientific Research >
        • Communicating With Computers
        • The Mystery of Asthma
        • The Nanoscopic War Against Cancer
        • Phytochemistry
        • Solving the energy crisis with Intermediate Band Solar Cells
        • A Pain That Never Ends
        • Rapamycin Resistance
        • Ampacity of a Single Core Horizontal Cable
        • Morphological Properties of Texting Acronym Formation
        • cGAS and STING Expression
      • Reactions and Responses >
        • Can Humans Survive the Climate Crisis?
        • My Experience as a Teacher's Assistant
        • Ted Talk Responses
        • Teens For Food Justice
      • Artistic Creations >
        • Chandelier
        • Deltoidal Hexacontrahedon
        • Dodecahedron Card Trick
        • Eye of the Triangle
        • Free Radric Delantic Davis
        • The Grid
        • What Does A Randomly Composed Song Sound Like?
        • Science Wing Mural
    • 2014 Publication >
      • Cover Photo
      • Artistic Creations >
        • Art Using the Fibonacci Sequence
        • Computer Generated Architecture and Designs
        • Mathematical Landscape
        • Math Art
        • Math in Music
      • Historical and Current Explanations >
        • Algae Bio-Fuel
        • An Energy Alternative
        • Clean Energy In Transportation
        • Calorie Restriction
        • Creating Energy in the Modern World
        • Dietary Intervention Impact on Gut Microbial Gene Richness
        • Earthly Applications for NASA Technology
        • Explaining Relative Motion
        • Exploring Artificial Inteligence
        • Gamma Function
        • How Leaves Work
        • Hydrogen Fuel Cells
        • Music and Brain Development
        • Programming Calculators
        • The Science of Microsatellites
        • Sci-Fi Taser
        • Sloane's Gap
        • Sustainable Energy: Why Some Ideas Shine Brighter than Others
        • Understanding The Galvanic Cell
        • The Virus: Our Unforeseen Philosopher's Stone
        • What Are Fuel Cells and How Do They Work?
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
        • Astrocytes Expressing ALS-Linked Mutated SOD1 Release Factors Selectively Toxic to Motor Neurons
        • Big Bang
        • Dictyostelium Discoideum
        • The Future of Solar Cell Technology
        • And Many More...
      • Reactions and Responses >
        • Alternative Energy Sources, New but Unused
        • An Insight Into the Curious World of Ethnobotany
        • Challenging What We Think We Know
        • The Current State of American Education
        • Discovering New Numbers
        • Interview With an Architect
        • Life of Pi Response
        • Mathematical Art Video Commentary
        • Missing from Science Class
        • The Museum of Math
        • The Inside Scoop on a Real Mathematician
    • 2013 Publication