Title of your experimental design Name(s). Date(s) experiment was run.

Background In one brief paragraph, summarize what you had been learning and what you already knew.

Problem Research Question Briefly write the investigative question that you explored i.e. what effect does ___ have on ___ or how does ___ affect ___.

Hypothesis If ___ then ___ because ___.

Materials List!!! Do not write it in paragraph form what you need to complete this experiment. Look at how recipes do it. Be specific - list EXACTLY what you needed and how much of each. Use metrics or convert to metrics whenever possible. It is assumed your already are using a writing utensil, science notebook, or computer to record data. DON'T list them unless you are performing an experiment on them or they are directly being used in the experiment other than to record data.

Variables Independent: What variable are your changing or varying (this can typically be found within the "if" part of your hypothesis - a good reason to use an "if...then...because..." hypothesis statement. Dependent: What is the responding variable? What are you measuring as a direct result of what you changed in the independent variable. Controlled Variables or Constants: What you'll keep the same to make each test fair and results reliable. These are variables or factors that can affect the results in your measurements but you don't want them to.

Controlled Experiment Not all experiments require a controlled experiment especially when there is not a standard for comparison. Typically, it is what you'll compare your results to, see what happened, or see if it varies from what is considered standard or normal. If there is no controlled experiment, then delete this slide but look hard at your experiment and see if there really is a standard to which you are comparing your results.

Procedure 1. Tell everything that needs to be done using the materials you listed, how it needs to be done, and what data you are trying to collect. 2. This should be detailed enough so that someone else can repeat exactly (with few errors) what you did in your experiments. 3. These procedures should be numbered and in list form. 4. Tips: You need repeated trials or lots of trials instead of direct repeats. All work should be done using the metric system of measures. You are already expected to create a data table, make a graph, analyze the data, and conclude so DO NOT create steps for these. 5. Diagrams and pictures can be useful here.

Observations Do not confuse this with collecting and analyzing data. These are observations that you make using your five senses during the experiment. Qualitative: Descriptive observations. Can be about unexpected outcomes. Difficulties encountered. Quantitative: Numerical observations, not necessarily measurements for your data table.

Data Table You can insert a spreadsheet or create a data table using the table tool in the menu bar. A simple T chart could be all that you need. You may need multiple if you are comparing different groups.

Graphs / Diagrams Create or insert a graph to visually represent your findings to help analyze them. Use the type of graph which fits your findings, for example: line chart to show changes over time / rate of change numerical vs numerical data (very common). bar graph and pie charts to show a comparative study of non-numerical variables (very rare). Diagrams and pictures are also useful here.

Analysis Here is where you talk about your data: What patterns or trends are you seeing? What relationship does the dependent variable have with the independent variable? What numbers stick out or seem most significant? What numbers were unexpected? What observations were impactful to your study?

Conclusion Tell what you found - and compare this to your hypothesis. This is where you revisit and restate your hypothesis then include the following: Was your hypothesis supported by your data? Why or why not? How do you know based on your data? Do not say you were right or wrong. How do you really know? Only your data can support not prove your hypothesis.

Reflection What did you learn from your experiment? (What did you find out that you didn't know before?). What were some possible sources of error and how would you avoid it next time? (There is no such thing as a perfect experiment unless you were doing a very simple below grade level experiment - if you don't know of any errors then you really don't know your experiment). If you were to expand on the experiment, what direction would you take it? (Not to avoid errors but to test something different). How does this connect to the world? (Who would be interested in knowing the results of your experiment beside those that participated?)