1. Vocabulary Unit 2 (create table below in your lab notebook double space for each word)
Definition
Way to Remember
Observation
Inference
Qualitative
Quantitative
Valid
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Constants
Control

2. Observation and Inference
Observation – something that is factual based on the senses. Something you can see, taste, touch, smell or hear.
Inference – a guess or assumption based on your observation.

3. Observation or Inference
The dog barks to show it does not like strangers.
The dog is white with black spots.
The dog weighs 52 pounds.
The dog sticks his tongue out when he is hot.
The dog wags his tail when he is happy.

4. QuaLitative and QuaNtitative
QuaLitative – descriptive information. What it Looks Like (using Letters of words only)
QuaNtitative – measureable data (using Numbers only)

5. Qualitative or Quantitative
The lava flowing out of the volcano is red.
The lava has a temperature of 10000C.
The oldest volcano is 2.4 km from the newest one.
The temperature outside today is hotter than yesterday.
I ran twelve miles today.

6. Science experiments use…
Valid: Fair, Reliable, or “Repeatable” results.
Independent Variable: the factor that is changed/manipulated by “I” the experimenter
Dependent Variable: the factor which happens as a response; is measured or observed
Constants: all the factors that stay the same in every trial of an experiment
Control: is the norm to compare the results to, not found in all experiments

7. 9/5 Warm-Up
Find your Measurement Sheet from yesterday and grab a marker to grade.
Open lab notebook to a new page (front side), title “Process Skills/Vocabulary”.
Then open to back side: How are most new inventions created?

8. Scientific Method Problem/Question:
Hypothesis: If________ Then_____________
Experiment: materials, procedures, repeated trials
Collecting Data: observe and record (data table)
Analysis/Conclusion:
C.E.R. (Claims, Evidence, Reasoning)
Was your hypothesis correct?

9. A birdy example…
Imagine you want to see what color of bird feeders your local birds preferred. Red? Blue? Green?
If a student wanted to determine whether feeder color has an effect, he might suggest, “if I put up a red, blue, and green feeder, birds will visit the green feeder more” as a hypothesis. He might speculate that the green feeder, being the most “camouflaged” or “natural” might be visited the most.

10. Independent Variable, Dependent Variable, or Constants
Imagine you want to see what color of bird feeders your local birds preferred. Red? Blue? Green?
Amount of bird seed eaten in grams
Color of feeder
Location of feeder, kind of bird seed
If a student wanted to determine whether feeder color has an effect, he might suggest, “if I put up a red, blue, and green feeder, birds will visit the green feeder more” as a hypothesis. He might speculate that the green feeder, being the most “camouflaged” or “natural” might be visited the most.
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Constants

11. Is Sam’s experiment VALID? YES? NO?
If everything except the independent variable is held constant, we can say: The experiment is “VALID”
Is Sam’s experiment VALID? YES? NO?
Read the following scenario to the students:
Sam wants to know if birds prefer one color of feeder to another. He makes three feeders out of 2-liter bottles and paints one red, one blue, and one green. He fills the feeders with the same amount of sunflower seed, and plans to keep the feeders out for one week before measuring how much seed is eaten out of each. On Tuesday, he puts each of the feeders in his back yard: the red feeder in a large dead tree, the blue feeder he sits on the doghouse, and the green one he puts in a small bushy tree.
Is Sam’s experiment fair?
NO! It isn’t fair since the locations of the feeders were different!

12. Question, Independent, Dependent, or Constants
Variable:
Constants:
Time each person listens to music measured in hours
Questionnaire
Question:
Independent
Variable:
Who listens to music the most: teenagers or their parents
Participants in survey

13. Question, Independent, Dependent, or Constants
Variable:
Does an electric motor turn faster if you increase the voltage
Voltage of the electricity measured in volts
Dependent
Variable:
Constants:
Speed of rotation measured in revolutions per minute (RPMs)
Motor,
Task for motor

14. Does fertilizer make a plant grow bigger
Question, Independent, Dependent, or Constants
Pot size,
Type of plant,
Type of soil ,
Amount of water,
Amount of light,
Time of measurements
Growth of the plant
Does fertilizer make a plant grow bigger
Amount of fertilizer measured in grams

15. How fast does a candle burn Time measured in minutes
Question, Independent, Dependent, or Constants
How fast does a candle burn
Time measured in minutes
Type of candle,
Location
Height of candle measured in centimeters

16. 14. What did the Super Bubble ads claim?
Super Bubbles
Patrick and SpongeBob love to blow bubbles! Patrick found some Super Bubble Soap at Sail-Mart. The ads claim that Super Bubble Soap will produce bubbles that are twice as big as bubbles made with regular bubble soap. Patrick and SpongeBob made up two samples of bubble solution. One sample was made with 5 oz. of Super Bubble Soap and 5 oz. of water, while the other was made with the same amount of water and 5 oz. of regular bubble soap. Patrick and SpongeBob used their favorite bubble wands to blow 10 different bubbles and did their best to measure the diameter of each one. The results are shown in the chart
Super Bubble makes bubbles twice as big as regular bubble soap
14. What did the Super Bubble ads claim?
15. What is the independent variable?
16. What is the dependent variable?
17. A. Calculate the average diameter for each bubble solution.
Super Bubble = ______ cm Regular Soap = ________ cm
B. What should their conclusion be?
18. Are the results reliable? Why or why not?
Type of bubble solution
Size of the bubbles
15.1
11.5
Super bubble makes larger, but not twice as large bubbles as regular soap
No, different wands, etc.

17. 10. What is the independent variable?
Squidward’s Symphony
Squidward loves playing his clarinet and believes it attracts more jellyfish than any other instrument he has played. In order to test his hypothesis, Squidward played a song on his clarinet for a total of 5 minutes and counted the number of jellyfish he saw in his front yard. He played the song a total of 3 times on his clarinet and repeated the experiment using a flute and a guitar. He also recorded the number of jellyfish he observed when he was not playing an instrument. The results are shown in the chart.
10. What is the independent variable?
11. What is the dependent variable?
12. What should Squidward’s conclusion be?
13. Are the results reliable? Why or why not?
Type of instrument
Number of jellyfish
Clarinet and guitar tied for the most jellyfish

18. 4 – Microwave Miracle
Patrick believes that fish that eat food exposed to microwaves will become smarter and would be able to swim through a maze faster. He decides to perform an experiment by placing fish food in a microwave for 20 seconds. He has the fish swim through a maze and records the time it takes for each one to make it to the end. He feeds the special food to 10 fish and gives regular food to 10 others. After 1 week, he has the fish swim through the maze again and records the times for each.
What was Patrick’s hypothesis?
Which fish are in the control group?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
Look at the results in the charts. What should Patrick’s conclusion be?

19. Control? Independent variable? Dependent variable? Conclusion?
Marshmallow Muscles
Larry was told that a certain muscle cream was the newest best thing on the market and claims to double a person’s muscle power when used as part of a muscle-building workout. Interested in this product, he buys the special muscle cream and recruits Patrick and SpongeBob to help him with an experiment. Larry develops a special marshmallow weight-lifting program for Patrick and SpongeBob. He meets with them once every day for a period of 2 weeks and keeps track of their results. Before each session Patrick’s arms and back are lathered in the muscle cream, while Sponge Bob’s arms and back are lathered with the regular lotion.
Control?
Independent variable?
Dependent variable?
Conclusion?
Time
Patrick
SpongeBob
Initial 18 5
Week 1 24 9
Week 2 33 17