1. Lab Time
Science Experiments #5

2. Observations
receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments.

3. Scientific Data
Using, principles and methods of science; to find and record exact facts or figures to be analyzed. Scientific Data is used to make conclusions at the end of an experiment Let’s review… The Scientific Method

4. Key Vocabulary
Manipulated Variable - the variable that you change in an experiment. This variable is also called the independent variable.
Responding Variable - the variable that you measure to get your results. You do not know the values of this variable until you measure it. This is also called the dependent variable.
Control Variable – The variables that you must keep the same to get accurate results.

5. Read the information below and then answer the questions.
SpongeBob and Patrick love to go jellyfishing. They wondered if a new brand of jellyfish bait would help them catch more jellyfish. To test their idea, they bought a big container of bait for their next 3 trips to their top-secret fishing spot. SpongeBob fished without any bait, while Patrick used the new bait. Both of them kept track of how many jellyfish they caught in 30 minutes, which is shown in the chart.
SpongeBob
Patrick 25 24 18 28 26 19
Which person was the control?
2. What is the manipulated variable?
3. What is the responding variable?
4. Based on the data, how would you rate the new bait?

6. Read the information below and then answer the questions.
SpongeBob and Patrick love to go jellyfishing. They wondered if a new brand of jellyfish bait would help them catch more jellyfish. To test their idea, they bought a big container of bait for their next 3 trips to their top-secret fishing spot. SpongeBob fished without any bait, while Patrick used the new bait. Both of them kept track of how many jellyfish they caught in 30 minutes, which is shown in the chart.
SpongeBob
Patrick 25 24 18 28 26 19
Which person was the control?
SpongeBob
2. What is the manipulated variable?
Jellyfish Bait
3. What is the responding variable?
Number of jellyfish caught
4. Based on the data, how would you rate the new bait?
The bait appears to have helped a small amount, but shouldn’t be rated as a great deal. Overall Patrick caught 2 more jellyfish than SpongeBob.

7. Read the information below and then answer the questions.
SpongeBob loves to grow flowers for his pal Sandy, who loves big, colorful flowers. He found a new brand of seeds coated with a special “booster” fertilizer that said it would produce huge flowers. He planted 5 of the new seeds in one container and 5 of the old brand of seeds in another container. He placed both containers on a sunny windowsill and watered them every day. He measured the diameter of each flower, which is shown in the chart.
Old Seeds
10 cm
12 cm
14 cm
6 cm
8 cm
New Seeds
16 cm
Which group was the control?
2. What is the independent variable?
3. What is the dependent variable?
4. What is the average diameter for each group?
5. Which seeds are the best for big flowers?

8. Read the information below and then answer the questions.
SpongeBob loves to grow flowers for his pal Sandy, who loves big, colorful flowers. He found a new brand of seeds coated with a special “booster” fertilizer that said it would produce huge flowers. He planted 5 of the new seeds in one container and 5 of the old brand of seeds in another container. He placed both containers on a sunny windowsill and watered them every day. He measured the diameter of each flower, which is shown in the chart.
Old Seeds
10 cm
12 cm
14 cm
6 cm
8 cm
New Seeds
16 cm
Which group was the control?
The seeds without the booster fertilizer
2. What is the independent variable?
Booster fertilizer on the new seeds
3. What is the dependent variable?
Size or diameter of the flower
4. What is the average diameter for each group?
Old = 10 cm, New = 12 cm
5. Which seeds are the best for big flowers?
New seeds w/ the booster

9. Student Experiment
Students of different ages were given the same jigsaw puzzle to put together. They were timed to see how long it took to finish the puzzle.
What was the manipulated (independent) variable?
Ages of the students
What was the responding (dependent) variable?
The time it to put the puzzle together
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.
What variables had to stay the same?
Same puzzle
All of the participants were tested with the same puzzle.
It would not have been a fair test if some had an easy 30 piece puzzle and some had a harder 500 piece puzzle.

10. Student Experiment
An experiment is performed where eggs are boiled at different temperatures and the amount of time it takes them to be cooked is recorded. It is found that the higher the temperature of water, the faster an egg will boil
What was the manipulated (independent) variable?
Temperature
What was the responding (dependent) variable?
Time to get cooked
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.
What variables had to stay the same?
Same pot
Same amount of water any others?

11. A Birdy example… Red? Blue? Green?
You have a yellow bird feeder. Imagine you wanted to see if your local birds preferred a different color of bird feeder. You will measure how much seed they ate over 5 days using different color feeders.
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.
Questions are on next slide

12. Red Blue 1. What is the Manipulated Variable: color of the feeders
Amount of Seed Eaten in 5 days
1. What is the Manipulated Variable:
color of the feeders
2. What is the responding Variable:
amount of seed eaten
3. What is the Control?
Yellow Birdfeeder
4. What should be kept the same?
the location of the feeders
the kind of feeder used
putting the feeders out at the same time
Red
0.5lb
0.75lb
1lb
Blue
.0.5lb
0.35lb
0.45 lb
0.6 lb
Green
1.0 lb
1.5 lb
2.5 lb
1.5lb
2 lb
Independent Variable: the one factor that is changed by the person doing the experiment
Dependent Variable: the factor which is measured in the experiment
Constants: all the factors that stay the same in an experiment