1. Experiments with the Simpsons and Sponge Bob:

2. Smithers thinks that a special juice will increase the workers productivity. He creates two groups of 50 workers and assigns each group the same task (in this case, they're supposed to staple a set of papers). Group A is given the special juice to drink while they work. Group B is not given the special juice. After an hour, Smithers counts how many stacks of
papers each group has made. Group A made 1,587 stacks, Group B made 2,113 stacks.
Identify the:
Control Group
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
What should Smithers' conclusion be?
How could this experiment be improved?

3. Homer notices that his shower is covered in a strange green slime
Homer notices that his shower is covered in a strange green slime. His friend Barney tells him that coconut juice will get rid of the green slime. Homer decides to check this this out by spraying half of the shower with coconut juice. He sprays the other half of the shower with water. After 3 days of "treatment" there is no change in the appearance of the green slime on either side of the shower.
What was the initial observation?
Identify the:
Control Group
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
What should Homer's conclusion
be?

4. Bart believes that mice exposed to microwaves will become extra strong (maybe he's been reading too much Radioactive Man). He decides to perform this experiment by placing 10 mice in a microwave for 10 seconds. He compared these 10 mice to another 10 mice that had not been exposed. He tested the mice by blocking their food dishes with a heavy piece of wood. He found that 8 out of 10 of the microwaved mice and 7 out of 10 of the non-microwaved mice were able to push the block of wood off their food dish. Identify the: Control Group Independent Variable Dependent Variable What should Bart's conclusion be? How could Bart's experiment be improved?

5. Krusty was told that a certain itching powder was the newest best thing on the market, it even claims to cause 50% longer lasting itches. Interested in this product, he buys the itching powder and compares it to his usual product. One test subject (A) is sprinkled with the original itching powder, and another test subject (B) was sprinkled with the experimental itching powder. Subject A reported having itches for 30 minutes. Subject B reported to have itches for 45 minutes. Identify the: Control Group Independent Variable Dependent Variable Explain whether the data supports the advertisements claims about its product.

6. Sponge Bob loves to garden and
wants to grow lots of pink flowers for
his pal Sandy. He bought a special
Flower Power fertilizer to see if it will
help plants produce more flowers. He
plants two plants of the same size in
separate containers with the same
amount of potting soil. He places one
plant in a sunny window and waters it
every day with fertilized water. He
places the other plant on a shelf in a
closet and waters it with plain water
every other day.
What did Sponge Bob do wrong in this
experiment? Explain.
What should Sponge Bob do to test the
effectiveness of Flower Power fertilizer?

7. Gary is not the smartest snail in Bikini Bottom and believes he can improve his brain power by eating Super Snail Snacks. In order to test this hypothesis, he recruits Sponge Bob and several snail friends to help him with the experiment. The snails ate one snack with each meal every day for three weeks. Sponge Bob created a test and gave it to the snails before they started eating the snacks as well as after three weeks. Based on the data provided, do the Super Snail Snacks work? Explain your answer.

8. Which people are in the control group?
Mr. Krabs wants to make Bikini Bottoms a nicer place to live. He has created a new sauce that he thinks will reduce the production of body gas associated with eating crabby patties from the Krusty Krab. He recruits 100 customers with a history of gas problems. He has 50 of them (Group A) eat crabby patties with the new sauce. The other 50 (Group B) eat crabby patties with sauce that looks just like new sauce but is really just mixture of mayonnaise and food coloring. Both groups were told that they were getting the sauce that would reduce gas production. Two hours after eating the crabby patties, 30 customers in group A reported having fewer gas problems and 8 customers in group B reported having fewer gas problems.
Which people are in the control group?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Mr. Krabs’ conclusion be?
Why do you think 8 people in group
B reported feeling better?

9. What was the initial observation? What is the independent variable?
Sponge Bob notices that his pal Gary is suffering from slimotosis, which occurs when the shell develops a nasty slime and gives off a horrible odor. His friend Patrick tells him that rubbing seaweed on the shell is the perfect cure, while Sandy says that drinking Dr. Kelp will be a better cure. Sponge Bob decides to test this cure by rubbing Gary with seaweed for 1 week and having him drink Dr. Kelp. After a week of treatment, the slime is gone and Gary’s shell smells better.
What was the initial observation?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be?

10. Larry was told that a certain muscle cream was the newest “best thing” on the market and that it 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 Sponge Bob to help him with an experiment. Larry develops a special marshmallow weight-lifting program for Patrick and Sponge Bob. 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. Which person is in the control group? What is the independent variable? What is the dependent variable? What should Larry’s conclusion be?
Time Patrick SpongeBob
Initial
Amount
After 1
Week
After 2
weeks