Redi: Scientific Method and Heather Ramirez Page
1. State a possible hypothesis for Redi’s experiment.
-Hypothesis for Redi’s experiment is that maggots come from larva of flies and that the meats only serve as food for the developing insects. 2. Which of the three jars in Redi’s experiment would be considered the control and why?
-The jar that was left uncovered in the experiment would be considered the control because this jar represented the meat as it would normally be found with the maggots attached.
3. Give a brief explanation of Redi’s experimental procedure.
-Redi preformed an experiment to prove where maggots came from. He took three jars and put a piece of meat in each jar. Jar 1 was left uncovered, jar 2 was covered with netting (gauze), and jar 3 was sealed from the outside. In jar 1, maggots were found on the meat and there were flies flying around that had laid eggs on the meat. Jar 2 was found to have maggots on the netting of the jar, because the flies had begun to lay their eggs. Jar 3 had not developed any maggots on the meat, which proved that living things are not spontaneously generated.
Heather Ramirez
Page 2
4. Why would the experiments run by Redi, Spallanzani, and Pasteur be considered as a possible basis for a theory?
-Redi, Spallanzani, and Pasteur all used similar experiments to prove that living things are not spontaneously generated and through their experiments they were able to support their hypothesis with scientific reasoning. The experiments preformed were considered valid because of the reproducible outcome in each study.
5-6. What were the possible conclusions reached from Spallanzani’s experiment? Why were his conclusions not accepted?
-After boiling the broths no bacteria was present. Although his experiment was successful, his conclusions were not accepted because he had deprived the sealed flasks of air by melting their glass necks and it was thought that air was necessary for spontaneous generation to occur. The experiment
-Hypothesis for Redi’s experiment is that maggots come from larva of flies and that the meats only serve as food for the developing insects. 2. Which of the three jars in Redi’s experiment would be considered the control and why?
-The jar that was left uncovered in the experiment would be considered the control because this jar represented the meat as it would normally be found with the maggots attached.
3. Give a brief explanation of Redi’s experimental procedure.
-Redi preformed an experiment to prove where maggots came from. He took three jars and put a piece of meat in each jar. Jar 1 was left uncovered, jar 2 was covered with netting (gauze), and jar 3 was sealed from the outside. In jar 1, maggots were found on the meat and there were flies flying around that had laid eggs on the meat. Jar 2 was found to have maggots on the netting of the jar, because the flies had begun to lay their eggs. Jar 3 had not developed any maggots on the meat, which proved that living things are not spontaneously generated.
Heather Ramirez
Page 2
4. Why would the experiments run by Redi, Spallanzani, and Pasteur be considered as a possible basis for a theory?
-Redi, Spallanzani, and Pasteur all used similar experiments to prove that living things are not spontaneously generated and through their experiments they were able to support their hypothesis with scientific reasoning. The experiments preformed were considered valid because of the reproducible outcome in each study.
5-6. What were the possible conclusions reached from Spallanzani’s experiment? Why were his conclusions not accepted?
-After boiling the broths no bacteria was present. Although his experiment was successful, his conclusions were not accepted because he had deprived the sealed flasks of air by melting their glass necks and it was thought that air was necessary for spontaneous generation to occur. The experiment