Mentor Training Meeting (#2) Nov 22, 2012 Forming an Experiment

Meeting Agenda Project Approval Required Lab Notebook December Tasks Progress Review Testable Question Hypothesis (+Null) Formulation Project Approval Required Lab Notebook December Tasks Reminders Mentor Training Checklist #2 Intro, Protocols, & Calendar Overview

Progress Review Met your buddy earlier this month, and have been communicating (using email protocol) once a week Turn in all required forms with signatures Both you and buddy have agreed on mutual responsibilities and understand overall tasks and timeline Worked through project ideas section in binder and have chosen (or narrowed down) a topic of interest Start working on background research Start forming a testable question on the chosen topic

Forming a Testable Question A question should be testable, or can be answered by experimentation: What can you discover or measure by performing your experiment? Example: “What is the effect of exercise on heart rate?” Note: A common mistake is when students choose to create a “demonstration” such like a volcano, but it CAN’T be numerically measured

Tips: Questions to Avoid Any topic that’s based on a simple preference or taste comparison Example: “Which tastes better: Coke or Pepsi?” Why? Too subjective. Need variables allowing numerical measurements Topics that are difficult to perform or repeat Example: measuring nanoparticles or building complex structure Topics that involve dangerous, hard-to-find, expensive or illegal materials

Testable Question (cont.) A Testable Question often begins with: ~ How, What, Who, Which, Why, or Where Example: if you’re interested in robots, your question might be: “How much current does a robot’s arm use to lift a weight?” Or, often it could have the word “affect” in the middle of it: Example: “Does the height of the ramp affect how far the ball will roll?” *** Make sure that your Testable Question MUST involve factors or traits (variables) that you can clearly measure/identify

How to Form a Hypothesis A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work: Basic structure: "If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen." (Fill in the blanks with the appropriate information from your own experiment.) Note: sometimes a hypothesis will also include a “because” statement at the end

How to Form a Hypothesis (cont.) Your hypothesis should be a testable hypothesis In other words, you need to be able to measure both “what you do” (ie, Independent Variable) and “what will happen” (ie, Dependable Variable) Definition: Independent variable (IV): The variable that is changed by the scientist. Dependent variable (DV): The variable the scientist observes. Controlled variables (CV): Those quantities that a scientist wants to remain constant throughout the experiment.

How to Form a Null Hypothesis NULL HYPOTHESIS ~ think of it as a backward way of looking at things. That is, if the null hypothesis says that what you do will have no effect. Then, if you can disprove that, you can have some confidence that it did indeed have an effect. Example: Hypothesis: If I add nutrient A to a plant, then this will make the plant grow taller. Null Hypothesis: If I add nutrient A to a plant, then this will have no effect on the growth in height of the plant. If you can disprove your null hypothesis (ie, your dependent variable (= nutrient) is indeed experimentally connected to the independent variable (= plant growth in length)), it will support your original hypothesis. The Null Hypothesis assumes that the dependent variable is not experimentally connected to the independent variable. In other words, the dependent variable shows no signs of being affected by the independent variable. 

Example of Variables Testable Question: Ex: “Does heating a cup of water allow it to dissolve more sugar?” Independent Variable (IV): Temperature of the water, measured in Fahrenheit (°F) Dependent Variable (DV): Amount of sugar that dissolves completely, measured in gram => This is the measured outcome you get Controlled Variables (CV): Stirring or not, type of sugar, etc, etc. ie, these are variables that are held constant

Lab Notebook  Choosing a Project  Literary Research The lab notebook should read like a diary from the beginning to the end of the project Suggested Table of Content:  Choosing a Project  Literary Research  Experimental Research (hypothesis / variables / procedures / materials, special forms, etc.)  Daily Log (dates, data, thoughts, processes, etc.) Suggested format: Use complete sentences / data tables, if possible Your buddy must have their lab notebook at all buddy meetings, and during experiment.

December Tasks Finalize Topic / Testable Question for approval, if you haven’t already done so Discuss how to use a Lab Notebook with buddy Continue with more Background Research Form a Hypothesis (+null) Identify Independent/Dependent/Control Variables Draft a Procedure and Materials list Review appropriate binder sections with buddy Due Dec. 20 ~ Topic / Testable Question, Hypothesis, Control, Variables, Proposed Procedure & Materials

Project Approval Required All experiments require approval by the Advisor, Mrs. Bandrowski, before experimentation. Any question, contact us at: admin@mvsciencealliance.org AND Mrs. Bandrowski at L.Bandrowski@mvsciencealliance.org In the subject line put: “SA Project Approval Request” ~ if seeking approval for project “SA Project Materials Request” ~ if seeking to borrow materials.

Reminders! Mentor-Buddy Meeting, next Monday Dec 3, 2012, after school Make sure you email your buddy at least once a week! Don’t forget to CC communications, your mentor trainer, and the buddy’s parent If they don’t reply, CALL them  Mentor-Buddy Meeting, next Monday Dec 3, 2012, after school 3:15pm – 5:30pm Write it in your planner!