CONCLUSION Scientific Method Step 6 (pg 31): Conclusions

4 requirements of a complete Conclusion 1. Was the hypothesis correct or incorrect? Be sure to explain why you decided on this. 2. Recap the results from your experiment. This should include the averages for each condition of the IV. 3. Use your results to explain what happened in your experiment and support it using scientific principles/terminology/theories. 4. Include a final concluding sentence, which answers the original question. NOTE: If the answer is “NO”, this leads to a new question and the scientific method starts again.

Read the following conclusion. Does it include all the criteria listed above? Underline or highlight each of the criteria. The hypothesis that more sugar in apple juice will increase the boiling temperature was correct because the apple cider had the greatest amount of sugar and boiled at the highest temperature. The apple cider boiled at o C on average, the sweetened apple juice boiled at an average temperature of o C and the unsweetened apple juice boiled at o C on average. The higher concentration of sugar increases the number of particles present in the sample of juice. This increase requires a greater amount of heat energy in order for the juice to change state from a liquid to a gas, which results in the liquid reaching a higher temperature before boiling. As the amount of sugar in the apple juice increases, the boiling temperature increases as well.

Scientific Method Step 7: Sources of Error and Improvements (pages 33-35) Using the scientific method, we design experiments and try to obtain results that prove or disprove our hypothesis. However, experiments are never flawless and scientists know that their results always contain errors. Your goal when designing and performing your experiments is to minimize errors and to be aware of what errors may be present in your experiments. You should also consider these errors when making your conclusions. Since all results contain errors, scientists almost never give definite answers. They are far more likely to say: "it is likely that..." or "it is probable that..." when making conclusions.

Sources of Error 1. Random Errors (Errors beyond your control) 2.Planning Errors See website on the top of pg 34 and complete the table below it.

Human Errors/Procedural Errors: Human errors usually result from making a mistake. Spilling part of a solution, dropping part of a solid from the weighing paper, or doing a calculation wrong is a mistake, not a source of error. They can be avoided by being careful. If they do happen, an experimenter would start that trial over again and not include mistakes in their data.

The following examples are mistakes that should NOT have happened and they should NOT be part of your Sources of Error: spilling, or sloppiness, dropping the equipment, etc. bad calculations, doing math incorrectly, or using the wrong formula reading a measuring device incorrectly (thermometer, balance, etc.) not cleaning the equipment using the wrong chemical not following the planned procedure or being unprepared

Improvements: After completing an experiment, scientists always review their results and evaluate how effective their experiment was. They look for ways to improve their design and procedure to obtain more accurate results. As you are performing your experiments, you too should be thinking about how you could improve your experiments to minimize errors and maximize accuracy. Suggesting improvements should not be viewed as a bad thing. As stated above, all science experiments have errors. Note: Your improvements should not be the same as your sources of error. You should be thinking of a variety of errors and improvements and not just rewriting an error as an improvement or vice versa.

Home Fun: 1. pg #2 (graph) 2. pg pg. 34 – top of the pg using website