Applying Science to Everyday Life

Applying Science to Everyday Life

Recently, Earl attended a picnic at his daughter’s school. The picnic was a potluck, and the food was served outdoors. Contributions included hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato chips, potato salad, coleslaw, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream. Within 24 hours of the picnic, several attendees developed symptoms of food poisoning. Of the 50 people who attended the picnic, only 30 people became ill. Every person at the picnic ate something, but not every person had an opportunity to sample each item. Earl noticed that the potato salad he started to eat was warm. He also noticed that his hamburger was somewhat pink in the middle and not fully cooked. Earl wonders if eating the hamburgers or the potato salad could be responsible for making some attendees ill. Earl has begun to apply the scientific method to this common problem.

Complete each of the following tasks in 200 to 300 words. 

1. How would the scientific method help Earl create an experiment to determine which food sources made people sick?
    
2. Describe the steps of the scientific method Earl utilized.