Question

Max discovered a beaker full of transparent liquid in the science lab. He hypothesized that since the liquid is transparent like water, it is water. He shared this conclusion with his friends. His friends questioned his conclusion, but Max had no evidence to back his thoughts. What step did Max miss in his scientific methods?

Answer 1

Max didn't bother to do experiments, to test, or verify,
or confirm, or disprove, or support his hypothesis.

Answer 2

Answer: Hello there!

Max found an unknown substance, and he had a question about it

the question was "what is this substance?"

then he did some analysis, the substance is liquid and transparent.

Whit this information he can craft a thesis; "this substance may be water"

Here is the mistake, now that he has a thesis, he needs to prove it with an experiment to find further information about the substance (viscosity, boiling point, etc), but he did not do it, he jumped this step and assumed that his thesis was right, then when he was questioned, he had no evidence to back his thoughts