Finding Patterns in Science

Today you will learn to find patterns and use them to explain what happens in nature or to help you design a solution.

A pattern is something that repeats in a way you can predict. Think about the sun. Every morning it rises in the east, and every evening it sets in the west. That happens day after day, all year long. Because you know this pattern, you can predict what the sky will look like tomorrow morning, even though tomorrow has not happened yet.

Here is a pattern you may know from Texas. In the fall, the days get shorter and cooler. In the spring, the days get longer and warmer. Farmers in Texas use this pattern every year. They plant certain crops in the spring because they can predict that warm, sunny days are coming. They are not guessing. They are using a pattern they have seen many times before.

Patterns also help you design a solution, which is something you build or plan to fix a problem. Imagine your school garden dries out every time there is a hot week with no rain. You notice that pattern. So you design a solution, like a shade cloth or a watering schedule, to keep the plants alive. The pattern told you when the problem would happen, so you could get ready.

Scientists look for patterns in everything. They study patterns in weather, in the moon's shape, in how animals move, and in how plants grow. When something repeats, scientists ask why. That question often leads to an explanation of how the world works.

You can be a pattern finder too. Watch, record what you see, and look for what repeats.

Try it: Every evening at your house, you see bats flying out at sunset. What pattern do you notice, and what would you predict will happen tomorrow at sunset?