SCIENTIFIC METHOD LAB (PILL BUG) - WEEK 2

There are two, two-sided dishes in the pill bug experiment. In one dish, you should have placed sand in both sides. In the other dish, you should have placed ______ in one side and ______ in the other.

sand; cornstarch

Place the four phases of the scientific method in order.

1) Hypothesis 2) Experiment 3) Analysis 4) Report

In the pill bug experiment, how many pill bugs did you need to use to get good information for the experiment?

10

Match the action to the appropriate phase of the scientific method

Document Results - Report Formulate a Hypothesis and Create a Strategy - Hypothesis Draw Graphs, Evaluate the Hypothesis - Analysis Carry Out the Strategy, Collect Measurements - Experiment

After a period of time, most of the pill bugs appeared to spend most of their time on the side of the dish with sand, not cornstarch.

FALSE

If the hypothesis in a scientific experiment is not supported, the experiment is considered a complete failure and must be repeated until a satisfactory outcome is reached.

FALSE

In the pill bug experiment, it is important that measurements be taken twice: once at the beginning of the experiment, and once at the end of the experiment.

FALSE

You do not need to pause to record your data as you perform your experiment. You can go back and estimate the values when the experiment is complete.

FALSE

What is your strategy?

I will add 5 pill bugs on the left and 5 pill bugs on the right and count the number of pill bugs on each side at regular intervals of time.

What is your experimental setup for the top choice chamber?

I will put cornstarch on one side of the chamber and fine sand on the other side of the chamber.

What is your control setup for the bottom choice chamber?

I will put sand on both sides.

In the pill bug experiment, if the pill bugs in the experimental chamber would have moved to the side of the chamber with sand instead of cornstarch, what would you have concluded?

Pill bugs tend to prefer sand over cornstarch.

What is your hypothesis for this experiment?

Pill bugs will move toward the choice chamber containing cornstarch, because they are attracted to cornstarch.

In the pill bug experiment, the substance used as the control was

sand.

In order to come to reliable conclusions about pill bug preferences, you needed to use the

scientific method.

Before you begin a scientific experiment, you should (Select all that apply)

state a hypothesis. decide on a strategy.

When determining the scope of an experiment, you need to consider (Select all that apply)

the outcome you will investigate. the factor that will vary.

When graphing your data, it is important that you

place the independent variable on the X-axis.

If you wanted to test whether or not a particular pain reliever was effective in the general population, you would need to design an experiment with an experimental group and a control group. What should be the only difference between these two groups?

Treatment: The experimental group should get the pain reliever, and the control group should get a placebo

In the pill bug experiment, your hypothesis

was related to the environment pill bugs prefer.

Some students consume large amounts of caffeinated drinks to help them stay alert when studying. You notice that many who engage in this practice seem to do poorly on exams. Suppose you want to investigate the relationship between caffeine consumption and exam performance. Which of the following statements would be an appropriate hypothesis?

Students who consume large amounts of caffeine while studying have lower exam scores than students that consume less caffeine while studying.

You should use the graph generated from your data to see if your hypothesis is supported.

TRUE

Imagine that you wish to compare two different diets that will be fed to tadpoles raised in a lab. One diet is a meat-based fish food, and the other is the traditional diet of boiled lettuce. You want to see if the meat-based diet will be associated with an increase in the average weight of the tadpoles. In your experiment you keep all other factors, such as tadpole density per pan, temperature, pH, and the amount of food the same. The only difference between your control and experimental groups is the type of food the tadpoles receive. Which is a good hypothesis for this tadpole experiment?

Tadpoles will be larger if fed a meat-based diet.

What does your data suggest about the behavior of the pill bugs?

The pill bugs tend to move toward the cornstarch, and the control group shows they don't change behavior regarding sand.

When utilizing the scientific method, there are two types of variables. They are

dependent and independent.

Imagine that you wish to compare two different diets that will be fed to tadpoles raised in a lab. One diet is a meat-based fish food, and the other is the traditional diet of boiled lettuce. You want to see if the meat-based diet will be associated with an increase in the average weight of the tadpoles. In your experiment you keep all other factors, such as tadpole density per pan, temperature, pH, and the amount of food the same. The only difference between your control and experimental groups is the type of food the tadpoles receive. What is the independent variable for the tadpole diet experiment?

diet

In the pill bug experiment, an important part of the experimental strategy was to

make observations at regular intervals.

According to the results of the pill bug experiment,

pill bugs tend to prefer cornstarch over sand.

When graphing your data, it is important to

place the dependent variable on the Y-axis.