Inquiry Lab

Lab Planning Day Today you will work as a group to create a testable question. You will then design/plan a lab that tests your variable. Examples of Testable Variables Include: – Length of String (longer or shorter) – Adding More Washers (changing the mass) – Distance You Pull Washers *When finished you will work on your material list and title. *Rough Drafts in Your Science Lab Journal First

Lab Day Two You will do research on your topic. – Search the internet or other sources to find the current scientific knowledge about this topic. – Cite references you used (Website name) (2-3 different resources). – One page paper using 14 point font at the least. Each person in your group is responsible for their own research paper. You will use Microsoft Word to type your paper and the top of your paper should include your name, date and title. Similar to the example below.

Lab Day Three Continue working on your research paper. Guidelines still apply. You will do research on your topic. – Search the internet or other sources to find the current scientific knowledge about this topic. – Cite references you used (Website name) (2-3 different resources). – One page paper using 14 point font at the least. Each person in your group is responsible for their own research paper. You will use Microsoft Word to type your paper and the top of your paper should include your name, date and title. When finished save the paper to your H-drive, have a friend look over your paper, and then bring the computer to Ms. Wojno to save it!

Lab Day Four Work on your hypothesis and material list. Hypothesis – Write an if... then... statement that explains what you think will happen in your investigation. "If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen." Material List – Make a list of all the materials used in your investigation. Be specific.

Lab Day Five Work on Experiment Design and Organization of Data. Experiment Design – Tell what you will change (independent or manipulated variable). – Tell what you will measure or observe (dependent or responding variable). – Tell what you will keep the same to make the testing fair (constants or controlled variables). – Make sure the testing is done enough times to give accurate results (note this in your experiment design). Organization of Data – Create a chart and graph to record your data.

Lab Day Six Collect Data in your lab journal. – Make observations and/or take accurate measurements during your testing. Draw diagrams or take photos to show your results (ask for Ms. Wojno’s Ipad)

Lab Day Seven Collect Data in your lab journal. – Make observations and/or take accurate measurements during your testing. Draw diagrams or take photos to show your results (ask for Ms. Wojno’s Ipad)

Lab Day Eight Write your procedure. – Detailed step-by-step description of how you conducted your experiment. If I wanted to replicate this exact experiment what would I have to do? Conclusion – Tell what the data from your investigation shows. Explain how your results answer your question. Compare your results to your hypothesis. Tell about problems you encountered, ideas to improve the investigation, or what could be investigated further. – Claim: Answers your question. Answers the question “What do you know?” – Evidence: Evidence from student data. Answers the question “How do you know that?” – Reasoning: Explains why the evidence supports the claim. Answers the question “Why does your evidence support your claim?”

Lab Day Nine Have everything checked by Ms. Wojno and then you can start copying your components into your final copy book. While you are putting the information in your final copy, you will rotate between your partners having one person copy their components into the final copy and one person word processing your information. Word Processing – On Microsoft Word type up all of the components you have created while completing your experiment. *When finished save to the H-drive and then bring to Ms. Wojno to save it! Making the graph – If you are comfortable with Microsoft Word’s graphing then you can take a shot at it. Otherwise, using the netbooks we will go enter the information from our data table to create a graph. – You will need to go to this website:

Lab Day Ten Word Processing – On Microsoft Word type up all of the components you have created while completing your experiment. *When finished save to the H-drive and then bring to Ms. Wojno to save it! Making the graph – If you are comfortable with Microsoft Word’s graphing then you can take a shot at it. Otherwise, using the netbooks we will go enter the information from our data table to create a graph. – You will need to go to this website:

Lab Day Eleven Display – Neatly lay-out and attach to display board all the information about your investigation. It must be easy to read and understand. Make sure there are no grammar, spelling, or punctuation error. Then have Ms. Wojno okay it before you glue anything down.

Lab Day Twelve Grab a separate piece of paper and answer the following questions on your paper. Think back to when you copied your bubble lab to a separate piece of paper. – What do you notice about your work from the beginning of the year to now?

Lab Day Thirteen Technology – You will take all the information you have collected and laid out on your display board and create a PowerPoint, Prezi, or some cool way to display your information using technology!