August 17, 2018
Please get out the following:
1. Warm Up Sheet
2. Pencil
3. Signed Syllabus if you need to turn
it in
Warm Up
Four students are having a discussion about what to do for the
upcoming science fair. This were the questions they proposed:
Julian: Is it more exciting to drive a motorcycle blindfolded or go
skydiving?
Melissa: Is Einstein is the greatest scientist ever?
Jason: How do different types of activity affect human heart rate?
Antonella: Why is the sky blue?
Which student is posing a testable question? Explain your choice
and why you think the other three questions are not testable.
Testable explanation of an
observation.
NOT just an educated guess
It must be based on research
AND be able to be tested.
A hypothesis should:
-Define the proposed relationship
between the variables.
-Worded so it can be tested
-Make a clear prediction
-Be specific
Example
• A student is interested in designing
several experiments to test the factors
that effect how quickly an Alka-Seltzer
tablet dissolves in water (solution
rate).
Question: What effect does stirring
have on solution rate?
Hypothesis:
If the water is stirred, then the tablet
will dissolve faster because stirring
increases solution rate.
Practice
A student is interested in designing several
experiments to test the factors that effect
how quickly an Alka-Seltzer tablet dissolves in
water (solution rate).
Question 1: What effect does the water
temperature have on solution rate?
Questions 2: What effect does crushing the
tablet have on solution rate?
Question 3: What effect does adding soda to
the water have on solution rate?
Practice
For your question, write an appropriate hypothesis that could be tested with
and experiment.
Question 1: What effect does the amount of light have on plant growth?
Question 2: What effect does the amount of water have on plant growth?
Question 3: What effect does using plant food have on plant growth?