We all know that a conclusion is the outcome, or end result, of a process or an act. But what is conclusion in science? Well, basically, it is still the outcome of a process. It is the end result of a scientific process known as the scientific method.
Scientific method describes a systematic process of investigating observations, solving problems and testing hypotheses. The first step is to state, or name the problem.
Ensuring that a problem is stated clearly is important in order to avoid confusion or misunderstandings later on in the process. For instance, the problem may be stated as which one out of two types of kitchen roll, Type A and Type B, will absorb more water.
The next step is to make observations with regards to the problem. The observation in this example could be that kitchen roll Type B appears to be much thicker than Type A.
The hypothesis is basically an educated guess at what is likely to happen. It is formed after examining the observations made. In this case, the hypothesis is that the Type B kitchen roll will absorb more water, as it appears thicker.
The next step is to perform an experiment, to test the hypothesis. It must be unbiased, in other word, it should not favor a particular outcome. For this example, two beakers of the same size are filled with the same amount of water. One sheet of each type of kitchen roll is then dipped into the water.
The conclusion is drawn from the result of the experiment. In this example, the experiment showed that Type B absorbed almost double the amount of water than Type A. The hypothesis formed earlier was proven right.
