Investigation/Lab Report Notes
Vocabulary
Investigation
Research
Definition
 A way of scientifically testing a
hypothesis and explaining the
results
 Similar to an experiment or a
lab
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Objective
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Predict
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Hypothesis
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Independent
Variable
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Dependent
Variable
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Example
Any lab we have completed in class
Thermal Energy Transfer
Background information that
sets you up to create an
informed investigation,
prediction, and hypothesis
Usually not written in the
investigation
If you put a cup of cold water outside in the sun,
you know it will heat up as heat flows from the sun
to the water via radiation, but will the heating rate
be the same for a swimming pool of cold water
outside in the sun? If you put a couple of ice cubes
in your lemonade, heat flows from the lemonade
to the ice cube causing the ice cube to warm and
the lemonade to cool. But will the amount and
rate of heat flow be the same if you used twice as
many ice cubes? Will the lemonade cool faster?
Will lemonade cool at a different rate than soda?
Information about why the
investigation is being done
Sometimes referred to as
“Purpose” or “Problem
Statement” or “State the
Question”
Part of investigation and a lab
report
Investigate the relationship between the
amount of thermal energy transfer and
temperature changes.
Form an idea about what will
happen based on prior
knowledge and understanding
Part of an investigation
How will the amount of ice placed in
water affect the heating/cooling rate of
the water?
Making a formal prediction of
the expected results of an
experiment
Often written in “If…then”
format
Part of an investigation and a
lab report
If more ice is put in the cup then the
heat/cool rate will ____________.
Manipulated variable
What I change in the
experiment
Part of an investigation
Number of ice cubes
Measured or observed variable
What changes because of the
independent variable
Part of an investigation
Temperature
Control/Constant
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Materials
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Procedure
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Data
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Analysis
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Results
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Conclusion
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All factors that need to stay the
same in the investigation
Part of an investigation
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Amount of water
Type of container
Type of thermometer
List of all necessary supplies to
complete the investigation
Part of an investigation and a
lab report
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ice cubes (14)
water
4 100 mL graduated cylinders
thermometers
timers 
Step-by-step instructions for
completing an investigation
Part of an investigation and a
lab report
1. Measure and record the room
temperature on your data sheet.
2. Pour 100mL in your container, add ice
cubes as needed.
3. Measure and record the initial
temperature in degrees Celsius and
record this in the attached data table
under minute “0”. Continue
measuring and recording the
temperature at one minute intervals
for 10 minutes.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the container
with 2 ice cubes, 4 ice cubes, and 8
ice cubes.
Information that is collected
during an investigation
Includes both qualitative data
(measurements) and
qualitative data (descriptions
and observations)
Usually kept on a data table
Part of an investigation
Create a data table similar to the one
from the heat flow investigation but
instead of Hot Water, Room Temp, Cool
Water, and Ice Water write no ice, 2
cubes, 4 cubes, 8 cubes
Summary of what knowledge
was gained in the investigation
Part of an investigation
Create a graph using your data
Ask questions that interpret the data
Includes both qualitative data
(measurements) and
qualitative data (descriptions
and observations)
Includes tables, charts, graphs
Part of a lab report
Summarizes the entire
experiment
Includes possible sources of
error in the experiment
Part of a lab report