Scientific Method
Read the following experiment and state a good hypothesis. I am doing a test to see if there is a connection between how long you run and how fast your heart beats. I will be performing an experiment where a person will run for a 1 minute and I will check their heartbeat. Then they will run for 2 minutes and I will check their heart rate. I will do this up to 6 minutes and see if there is a connection. What do you think my hypothesis should be?
What is...If I increase the amount of time I run, then my heartbeat will increase.
Chris wanted to test the effect of diet pills on how tall the tomato plants in his garden would grow. He took two pots, filled them with dirt from the same bag, and planted four tomato plants in each. He watered one planter with tap water, and he watered the other planter with tap water mixed with dissolved diet pills. The plants were in the same location to ensure they got the same amount of sunlight, and the water was measured so that each pot received the same amount of water. He measured their height at the end of each week for eight weeks, and averaged the height of the four plants in each pot. He then graphed the results to show how the diet pills affected the height of the plants.
What is the control group ? List the constants in this experiment.
List the independent and dependent variables in the following hypothesis. If soil temperatures rise, then plant growth will increase.
What is...Independent-soil temperatures, Dependent-plant growth.
Thinking about the hypothesis: If soil temperatures rise, then plant growth will increase. What might a control in this experiment be?
What is... using the same potting soil, making sure both plants have an equal amount of light etc.
Mr. Han thinks that the "Quantum" Duracell battery has more energy than the regular Duracell battery. He wants to test out his hypothesis by doing the following experiment. He will use one new "Quantum" battery to power a flashlight and a old regular battery to power a clock. He leaves the flashlight and clock on until it turns itself off. He will record the time. Is this experiment considered a controlled experiment? Explain.
It is not a controlled experiment because there is more than one independent variable.
Find the independent and dependent variables in the following experiment: If you increase the number of times you practice shooting free-throws, then you will increase your chances of making a basket every time.
What is Independent- practice shooting free throws, Dependent- making baskets.
Mr. Han thinks that the "Quantum" Duracell battery has more energy than the regular Duracell battery. He wants to test out his hypothesis by doing the following experiment. He will use one new "Quantum" battery to power a flashlight and a old regular battery to power a clock. He leaves the flashlight and clock on until it turns itself off. He will record the time. How can you make this experiment into a control experiment?
Both batteries are new. Both batteries being used with the same device. Only thing that changes is the type of battery.
During gym class Sally noticed that her friend Melissa always ran faster than her. Sally knew that they exercised equally, so she wondered what could cause Melissa to run so fast.
Sally began to compare herself and Melissa to see what could cause the difference in speeds. She noticed that Melissa was taller and wondered if height affected speed. Sally predicted that taller people were able to run faster, but wanted to check her prediction. She asked her gym teacher if she could test her idea.
Sally measured all of her classmates’ height in centimeters and recorded it in her chart. Each classmate then ran one kilometer while Sally timed them with a stopwatch and recorded the data in seconds. She then began to review her data and look for the answer to her question.
1. What question is Sally trying to answer?
2. What made her want to answer this question? 3. What is being measured or observed in this experiment?
4. Are the observations recorded in words or numbers?
5. What factor does Sally think might cause the measurement to change?