1.03 Scientific Method
Part One:
Scenario 2:
Katherine wants to investigate if the time of day a plant is watered affects the growth of the plant. She hypothesizes that a plant watered in the morning will grow faster than a plant watered at other times of the day.
1. Identify the specific independent and dependent variables that will be involved in an experiment to test this hypothesis.
2. List at least five variables that should be controlled during the experiment. For each variable identified, give a specific suggestion for how it can be controlled during the experiment.
The independent variable in this experiment will be the time of day that the plant is being watered. The dependent variable will be the plant growth rate.
Five variables that should be controlled during the experiment:
1. How much sunlight the plants are all receiving.
2. How much water the plants receive.
3. The amount of room the plant has to grow in the pot.
4. The type of soil being used on the plant.
5. The type of plant.
Part Two:
Purpose
Study at different times of the day to see if the time has an effect on how much information is retained.
What part of the day is best for retaining information while studying?
Research
Results from studying at different times of the day.
Alertness throughout the day.
What part of the day is someone most focused?
Sleep Doctors
Medical Websites
Hypothesis
Subjects will retain more information if studying sometime during early afternoon.
The time of day will not affect the ability to retain information.
Experiment
Have the subject read over a 10 word definition 5 times, test them an hour later to see how much of the definition they were able to remember. Repeat with a new definition every hour and a half, with a 30 minute break in between the test and new definition.
Independent Variables:
Definition
What time of the day they’re being showed the new definition.
Dependent Variables:
How well they remember the definition.
Scenario 2:
Katherine wants to investigate if the time of day a plant is watered affects the growth of the plant. She hypothesizes that a plant watered in the morning will grow faster than a plant watered at other times of the day.
1. Identify the specific independent and dependent variables that will be involved in an experiment to test this hypothesis.
2. List at least five variables that should be controlled during the experiment. For each variable identified, give a specific suggestion for how it can be controlled during the experiment.
The independent variable in this experiment will be the time of day that the plant is being watered. The dependent variable will be the plant growth rate.
Five variables that should be controlled during the experiment:
1. How much sunlight the plants are all receiving.
2. How much water the plants receive.
3. The amount of room the plant has to grow in the pot.
4. The type of soil being used on the plant.
5. The type of plant.
Part Two:
Purpose
Study at different times of the day to see if the time has an effect on how much information is retained.
What part of the day is best for retaining information while studying?
Research
Results from studying at different times of the day.
Alertness throughout the day.
What part of the day is someone most focused?
Sleep Doctors
Medical Websites
Hypothesis
Subjects will retain more information if studying sometime during early afternoon.
The time of day will not affect the ability to retain information.
Experiment
Have the subject read over a 10 word definition 5 times, test them an hour later to see how much of the definition they were able to remember. Repeat with a new definition every hour and a half, with a 30 minute break in between the test and new definition.
Independent Variables:
Definition
What time of the day they’re being showed the new definition.
Dependent Variables:
How well they remember the definition.