Name The Three-Hole Bottle Demo Report 1. Compare the bottle used with the diagram at right. Point out any differences noted, or sketch the demo bottle as you see it. Date Per. cap water level tape (covering holes) 2. PREDICT what you think will happen when your teacher pulls the tape off the top hole. You can describe the expected result, or show it on the diagram at right. 3. Show (and/or describe) what actually DID happen. 4. How would you explain what happened? (In other words, what do you think caused to happen what did happen?). You might be able to list 2 or 3 reasonable, possible explanations. 5. Select one of your explanations (your "most likely" one, mark that one with an X), and based on that possible explanation, what do you predict will happen when the tape is pulled down exposing the second hole? (Describe, and/or show on the diagram). 6. Show (and/or describe) what actually DID happen. 7. Did the results match your prediction? If so, what does that suggest about your possible explanation (hypothesis)? If NOT, what does THAT suggest about your hypothesis? 8. If necessary, propose a second hypothesis:
9. Now, based on your best hypothesis, what do you predict will happen when the tape is fully removed from all three holes? 10. Show (and/or describe) what actually DID happen. 11. Did the results match your prediction? If so, what does that suggest about your possible explanation (hypothesis)? If not, what does THAT suggest about your hypothesis? 12. Summarize briefly what this entire experience tells you about how science solves problems? 13. Explain why some hypotheses are better than others; in other words, what are the characteristics of good hypotheses which may be lacking from poor hypotheses? =============================================== 14. Now we ll go back to the bottle, with the tape covering the three holes and the bottle full of water, but the bottle will be held horizontally, with all the holes facing down. 15. Assuming your best hypothesis for the actions with the vertical bottle might apply as well to the horizontal bottle, predict what is likely to happen when the tape is removed from the first hole (show and/or describe): 16. Predict what is likely to happen now when the tape is peeled down further to reveal the second hole (show and/or describe): 17. Finally, predict what is likely to happen when the tape is removed from all three holes (show and/or describe): 18. If possible, test your hypothesis by using the teacher s bottle, or building your own bottle and performing the above actions. Record all observations. Write up your work using our lab report format. Your peers will critique your work in our Three-Hole Bottle Symposium. 19. Explain how the modern flush toilet (that miracle of human technology) is similar to the bottle systems used in this activity. Do this neatly, using diagrams as appropriate.
Scientific Method Long ago, many people believed that living things could come from nonliving things. They thought that worms came from wood and that maggots came from decaying meat. This idea was called spontaneous generation. In 1668, an Italian biologist, Francesco Redi, did experiments to prove that maggots did not come from meat. One of his experiments is shown below. Redi placed pieces of meat in several jars. He divided the jars into two groups. He covered the first group of jars with fine cloth. He left the second group of jars uncovered. Redi observed the jars for several days. He saw flies on the cloth of the covered jars, and he saw flies laying eggs on the meat in the uncovered jars. Maggots appeared only on the meat in the group of jars left uncovered. 1. Scientists use a series of organized steps called scientific method to solve problems. List the steps that are often used. 2. What was the problem in Redi s experiment? 3. What do you think his hypothesis was? 4. How did he test his hypothesis? 5. What was the variable in his experiment? 6. What was the control in his experiment? 7. What do you think Redi s conclusion was.?
CAN YOU SPOT THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD CRITICAL THINKING/PROBLEM SOLVING Name Date Class Each sentence below describes a step of the scientific method. Match each sentence with a step of the scientific method listed below. A. Recognize a problem B. Form a hypothesis C. Test the hypothesis with an experiment D. Draw conclusions 1. Stephen predicted that seeds would start to grow faster if an electric current traveled through the soil in which they were planted. 2. Susan said, If I fertilize my geranium plants, they will blossom. 3. Jonathan s data showed that household cockroaches moved away from raw cucumber slices. 4. Rene grew bacteria from the mouth on special plates in the laboratory. She placed drops of different mouthwashes on bacteria on each plate. 5. Kathy used a survey to determine how many of her classmates were left-handed and how many were right-handed. 6. Jose saw bats catching insects after dark. He asked, How do bats find the insects in the dark? 7. Justin wondered if dyes could be taken out of plant leaves, flowers, and stems. 8. Alice soaked six different kinds of seeds in water for 24 hours. Then she planted the seeds in soil at a depth of I cm. She used the same amount of water, light, and heat for each kind of seed. 9.. Bob read about growing plants in water. He wanted to know how plants could grow without soil.
10. Kevin said, If I grow five seedlings in red light, I think the plants will grow faster than the five plants grown in white light. 11. Angela s experiment proved that earthworms move away from light. 12. Scott said, If acid rain affects plants in a particular lake, it might affect small animals, such as crayfish, that live in the same water. 13. Michael fed different diets to three groups of guinea pigs. His experiment showed that guinea pigs need vitamin C and protein in their diets. 14. Kim s experiment showed that chicken eggshells were stronger when she gave the hen feed, to which extra calcium had been added.
Name Class Date Performing an Experiment Read the following statements and then answer the questions. 1. A scientist wants to find out why sea water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water. 2. The scientist goes to the library and reads a number of articles about the physical properties of solutions. 3. The scientist also reads about the composition of sea water. 4. The scientist travels to a nearby beach,and observes the conditions there. The scientist notes the taste of the sea water and other factors such as waves, wind, air-pressure, temperature, and humidity. 5. After considering all this information, the scientist sits at a desk and writes, My guess is that sea water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water because sea water has salt in it. 6. The scientist goes back to the laboratory and does the following: a. Fills each of two beakers with I liter of fresh water. b. Dissolves 35 grams of table salt in one of the beakers. c. Places both beakers in a refrigerator whose temperature is - 1degree C. d. Leaves the beakers in the refrigerator for 24 hours. 7. After 24 hours, the scientist examines both beakers and finds the fresh water to be frozen. The salt water is still liquid. 8. The scientist writes in a notebook, It appears as if salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water does. 9. The scientist continues, Therefore, I suggest that the reason sea water freezes at a lower temperature is that sea water contains dissolved salts while fresh water does not.
Questions A. Which statements contain conclusions? B. Which statements refer to research? C. Which statement contains a hypothesis? D. Which statements contain observations? E. Which statements describe an experiment? F. Which statement supports the hypothesis? G. In which statement is the problem defined? H. Which statement contain data? I. Which is the variable in the experiment? J. What is the control in the experiment? K. Which statement includes an inference?
Dinosaur Scene: A time machine has been invented that travels into the past and takes pictures, sending them to the present. You are asked to look at one of the pictures and interpret what you see. Put an O before the statements that are observations and an I before the statements that are inferences. 1. The volcano is erupting. 2. The camptosaurus is going to eat the stegosaurus. 3. The stegosaurus will run into the water to escape. 4. The camptosaurus is leaving tracks in the ground. 5. The ground where the camptosaurus is walking is wet. 6. There are plants growing in the water. 7. The camptosaurus is going into the water to eat the plants. 8. There is a tree growing next to the river. 9. The tree looks like a palm tree. 10. The climate is warm. 11. The stegosaurus is eating the plant. 12. The stegosaurus is an herbivore. 13. There are bones from a dead animal by the shore. 14. The camptosaurus killed the animal. 15. Some more bones are in the water. 16. The camptosaurus can t swim and will drown. 17. Lava is corning down the sides of the volcano. 18. The camptosaurus has sharp teeth for eating meat.
Suppose you are a paleontologist and you have just discovered a layer of rock with many fossils in it, both petrified bones and tracks. Decide whether the following statements are observations or inferences. There are tracks from three different animals in the rock. One animal was chasing another animal. Two different animals died in this spot. When the animals walked here the ground was wet. One of the animals that died here had bony plates. One of the animals that died here had sharp teeth. The animal that had sharp teeth ate meat.
Name Class Date Fish Observation Sheet Supplies: Fortune Teller Fish (these can be ordered from GTA, Inc., 14650 28th Ave., Plymouth, MN, 55447 and cost approximately $7.00 per gross,phone 800-328-1226), ice, hot plate, gooseneck lamp, water source, aluminum foil, saran wrap and any other things that students would like to include in their experiment. Procedure: 1. Remove the red cellophane Fortune Telling Fish from the small plastic envelope. Observations: Personality: 2. Follow the directions on the back of the package and watch the fish in your hand for at least 30 seconds. Write down your observations and what the envelope says about your personality. 3. One criteria of science is that there is a NATURAL explanation for the observations. This means that we cannot use a miracle or other supernatural events to explain the fish s movements. 4. Share your results with other members of your group and form at least two Hypothesis 1: Hypothesis 2:
hypotheses to account for the fish s behavior. In science, it must be a TESTABLE hypothesis. This means that we should be able to design an experiment to see whether or not your hypothesis is valid. 5. The item being tested in the experiment is called the VARIABLE, the untested comparison group is called the CONTROL. A good experimental design will only test one variable at a time. 6. Design a simple experiment that will test your hypothesis. Your experiment should have an EXPERIMENTAL GROUP and a CONTROL GROUP. Explain your experiment below and identify which group is the experimental group and which is the control. List the materials that you will need to conduct your experiment.
Name Class Date Setting Up An Experiment 1. Question your exploring: 2. Idea (hypothesis) you are testing: 3. What variables will you change in your experiment? 4. What variables will remain constant in you experiment? 5. Make a sketch of the set-up for your experiment. Label all materials and state all conditions. List the materials you need. Materials Needed for your experiment:
6. During the experiment: a: What specific things will you observe? b: What measurments will you make? c: What plan do you have for recording your data? 7. Sketch a sample data table for your experiment:
Inferences and Observations QUIZ An observation is anything that can be taken in through the senses. This would be things that you see, hear, taste, smell, touch, or taste. An inference is a statement that explains the observations. Suppose your friends went to the beach at noon on a warm day. They saw some black and white birds. Which of the following statements are observations and which are inferences? Indicate your answer with either the letter O for an observation, or the letter I for an inference. 1. It is summertime. 2. It is day time. 3. They saw birds. 4. They saw seagulls. 5. They went swimming. 6. One friend s name was Bob. 7. It was a warm day. 8. The birds were black and white. 9. They ate lunch and drank Coke. 10. The people are friends.
QUALITATIVE VS. QUANTITATIVE WORK SHEET All of the observations in this worksheet were qualitative; that is, you observed a quality about an object (it smelled good, it was green, etc.). Another type of observation is quantitative, meaning that it can be described or measured in concrete numerical terms. The following observations are quantitative: There are 30 students in my class. I weigh 98 pounds. 1 ate a pound of potatoes. Determine which of the following statements are quantitative and which are qualitative. 1. The cup had a mass of 454 grams. 2. The temperature outside is 25 0 C. 3. It is warm outside. 4. The tree is 30 feet tall. 5. The building has 25 stories. 6. The building is taller than the tree. 7. The sidewalk is long. 8. The sidewalk is 100 meters long. 9. The race was over quickly. 10. The race was over in 10 minutes. CONSTRUCTING INFERENCES FROM OBSERVATIONS Suppose your friends went to the beach at noon on a warm day. They saw some black and white birds. Which of the following statements are observations and which are inferences? Indicate your answer with either the letter O for an observation, or the letter I for an inference. 1. It is summertime. 2. It is daytime. 3. They saw birds. 4. They saw seaguils. 5. They went swimming. 6. One friend s name was Bob. 7. It was a warm day. 8. The birds were black and white. 9. They ate lunch and drank Coca-Cola&. 10. The people are friends.
NAME- DATE PERIOD COOKIE LAB-USING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD INTRODUCTION: Often two types of data can be collected from an experiment. Quantitative data is information that can be accurately measured and recorded. Qualitative data is information that requires judgment on the part of the researcher. In this lab you will be asked to take both quantitative and qualitative data. I. PROBLEM 1. Which brand of cookie is the least expensive? 2. Which brand of cookie is the best tasting? 3. Which brand of cookie has the best appearances II. FACTS Brand Number of Cookies per Bag A B C Cost Ill. FORMING HYPOTHESIS-Form a hypothesis about each of the problems given in Step I. 1. 2. 3.
IV. EXPERIMENT Part A: Each group of three students should have nine cookies (three of each brand). Place the three cookies of each brand on a labeled sheet of paper so you will not mix them up. The members of your group should take turns weighing each cookie and recording its mass on the table labeled Part A: Quantitative Data. Part B: Take one cookie of each brand and as a group record the qualitative data for the three brands of cookies. Rate the cookies on a scale from 1 to 3, 1 being the worst and 3 being the most desirable for each quality. V. RESULTS Part A. Quantitative Data Mass of Cookies Brand Mass Average Mass Mass of Bag A A A B B B C C C Part B: Qualitative Data Brand Texture # of Chips A B C Crispiness Color Mass Size Taste Total ( 7)
VI. CONCLUSION 1. Now that you know the mass and cost of each bag of cookies, determine which brand was the least expensive. 2. Look back to your original hypotheses. Which hypotheses are supported by your data? Which hypotheses are refuted by your data? 3. Which brand of cookie is the best tasting? 4. Which brand of cookie has the best appearance? 5. Compare your results with other groups. Are the results alike? 6. Which data, qualitative or quantitative, is most consistent with the rest of the class? 7. Which type of data would you expert to be most accurate? Why?
General Biology Unit Exam Name Date Period Write the letter of the term or phrase that correctly completes the statement. 1. The recorded measurements taken during an experiment are: (a) conclusions (b) data (c)variables (d) controls. 2. A statement that explains an observations is called the (a) experiment (b) observation (c) variable (d) hypothesis 3. Changes that occur during an experiment are compared with an unchanged group called the: (a) variable (b) control (c) hypothesis (d) conclusion 4. Testing the hypothesis is called: (a) a conclusion (b) an experiment (c) a theory (d) a law 5. At the end of an experiment, a scientist forms a(n): (a) problem (b) hypothesis (c) observation (d) conclusion Each sentence below describes a step of the scientific method. Match each sentence with a step of the scientific method listed below. A. recognize a problem B. form a hypothesis C. test the hypothesis with an experiment D. draw conclusions 6. Grant wondered if dyes could be taken out of leaves, flowers, and stems of plants. 7. Tiffney soaked six different kinds of seeds in water for 24 hours. Then she planted the seeds in soil at a depth of I cnl She used the same amount of water, light, and heat for each kind of seed. 8. Ty read about growing plants in water. He wanted to know how plants could grow without soil 9. Angela said, If I grow five seedlings in red light, I think the plants will grow faster than the five plants grown in white light. I0. Doug fed different diets to three groups of guinea pigs. His experiment showed that guinea pigs need vitamin C and protein in their diets.