1. + Scientific investigations are conducted for different reasons. All investigations require a research question, careful observations, data gathering, and analysis of the data to identify the patterns that will explain the findings. Different scientific research questions require different research designs. Scientific Investigation

2. + Descriptive investigation: involves describing and/or quantifying parts of a natural or man-made system Descriptive investigations are used to explore new phenomena such as conducting surveys of organisms or measuring the abiotic (nonliving) components in a given habitat. Descriptive statistics include frequency, range, mean, median, and mode. A hypothesis is not required in a descriptive investigation.

3. + Comparative investigation: involves collecting data on different organisms/objects/features, or collecting data under different conditions (e.g., times of year, temperatures, locations) to make a comparison. Ask well-defined questions.

4. + Experimental investigation: involves designing a fair test in which variables are actively manipulated, controlled, and measured in an effort to gather evidence to support or not support a causal relationship. Formulate testable hypotheses and determine cause & effect.

5. + EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN asking scientific questions –  Vague questions or opinions cannot be answered by scientific investigation.  Questions for investigation must be factual and specific. Testable QuestionNon-Testable Question Which cereal contains the most iron?Are waste disposal workers unhappy? Does rock music make more money than hip-hop music? Are clouds more beautiful on summer days? When comparing battery Brand X with battery Brand Y, which will keep a bulb lit the longest? Does a full moon cause wild behavior in living things?

6. +. hypothesis – educated guess based on theory; can be tested in an experiment Testable HypothesisNon Testable Hypothesis Adding fertilizer to bluebonnets will make them grow taller than when no fertilizer is added Some dogs love to eat food out of a blue bowl and not a white bowl If 3 balls are pulled back on Newton’s pendulum and released, then the other 2 balls will absorb the energy I believe classical music makes babies smarter people If the polar ice caps begin to melt, the amount of salt in ocean water will change. Dogs use mind control on their owners to be taken for walks and car rides.

7. + Vocabulary: constants – other parts of the experiment kept equal to make it “fair” for comparison independent variable – an intentional manipulation to change a response in the dependent variable (cause) dependent variable – observed changes in response to the independent variable (measured effect) control – something to compare experimental results to {Remember “Change Over Time”}

8. + Graphing Variables Dependent Response on the Y axis Manipulated Independent variable on the X axis “MIX” “DRY”

9. + AFL – In your spiral, on the designated page/section answer complete the following: 1. Turn to your foldable in your INB. In your own words, summarize the three types of investigations on the flat part of the foldable. 2. On the back of each flap, write a short example of each of the three types of investigations. 3. After you have completed this portion of the foldable or 15 minutes has passed, pair up with someone in your group of 4 and share your ideas. **You must have at least one example of three types of investigations complete before you participate in sharing your idea(s). 4. Take about 5 minutes to share with your partner and then share out as a table. 5. Read the questions below and answer them in the space below your foldable in your INB. Be sure to use complete sentences and explain your answers. 6. Did your peers lab example meet the requirements of the three types of investigations? After listening to your partners lab example, what key words and phrases helped you identify that example as descriptive, comparative or experimental?