5 th ~ 6 th ~ 7 th ~ 8 th

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Title: This should be descriptive and fairly short.
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Experimental question:
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“What effect does (Independent Variable- I.V.) have on (Dependent Variable- D.V.) ?”
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Hypothesis:
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“If _(How is I.V. changed?) , then (How is D.V. affected?) , because (Explain why ).”
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Variables:
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Independent (manipulated) variable (graphed on X axis):___________________
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Dependent (responding) variable (graphed on Y axis):______________________
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Constants (what stays the same in every trial?):____________________________

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In science, a hypothesis is an idea or explanation that you then test through study and experimentation. Outside science, a theory or guess can also be called a hypothesis. A hypothesis is something more than a wild guess but less than a well-established theory.
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Too often we are guilty of allowing them to guess without research.
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This establishes a habit that is very hard to break.

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The Big Misconception!!!
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What is a control?
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For our purposes it’s to be used as a group, not a variable.
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What is a constant?
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All the variables that remain the same.
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Why?
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The students are not ready to think abstractly and use the terms interchangeably.

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How do we teach variables?
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Through Cause & Effect
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IV (Independent Variable) is always your Cause
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DV (Dependent Variable) is always the Effect

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Materials: List all materials you need to complete this lab (complete paragraph not necessary.)
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Procedure: A sequential list is better than complete paragraphs.
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Describe each step
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Repeat trials
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Draw a diagram to help explain
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Data Table:
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Separate the trials.
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Use the following format
Independent Variable (IV) Dependent Variable (DV)

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Graph
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Use a simple yet descriptive title.
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Label both axes with title and units. For example, “Time (sec.)”
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Use an appropriate scale.
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Possible Experimental Errors
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Identify possible sources of error or bias.
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Explain how these errors or bias could have affected your results.
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Conclusions
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Remember to restate your hypothesis: “The hypothesis was…..”
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Discuss whether the data supports your hypothesis or not. (Use “supported” or “not supported” instead of “right” or “wrong.”) How do you know? Discuss how the graph shows your conclusion.
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Make recommendations for future experiments. How could you improve this experiment so the information would be more reliable? What related experiments could you recommend to future researchers?