KEY- Experimental Scenarios
Scenario 1- The Effect of fertilizers on Plants
Question- Which type of fertilizer will cause the plants to grow the most?
Hypothesis- Any possible answer to the question. Ex- I think compost will cause the
plants to grow the most.
Experimental Group: Flat A (w/ commercial fertilizer) & Flat B (w/ compost)
Control Group: Flat C (no fertilizers)
Manipulated Variable: The type of fertilizer
Responding Variable: The amount of Plant Growth
Constants: Flat size, soil type, type of plants, number of plants, amount of light, amount
of water, etc.
Scenario 2- The effectiveness of various metals in preventing rusting of iron
Question- Which metal wrap will prevent the iron nail from rusting the most?
Hypothesis- Any possible answer to the question. Ex- I think magnesium metal wraps
will prevent the nail from rusting the most.
Experimental Group: The nails wrapped in metal wraps (Magnesium, lead and
Aluminum)
Control Group: The nail with no metal wrap
Manipulated Variable: the type of metal wrapping
Responding Variable: the amount of rust
Constants: the amount of wrap, amount of water, time, type of nail.
Scenario 3- The effect of perfume on the behavior of bees
Question- Which type of perfume will cause bees to become the most agitated?
Hypothesis- Any possible answer to the question. Ex- I think that perfume type B will
cause the bees to be the most agitated.
Experimental Group: Saucer A, B, C & D with perfumes.
Control Group: Saucer E with no odor
Manipulated Variable: Type of Perfume
Responding Variable: Agitation of Bees
Constants: Type of bees, weather, distance from bees, amount of liquid, saucer type.
Scenario 4- Testing an Antibiotic
Question- Will the antibiotic effectively prevent the growth of bacteria?
Hypothesis- Any possible answer to the question. Ex- Yes, the antibiotic will prevent
the growth of the bacteria.
Experimental Group: Test tube A- with antibiotic
Control Group: Test Tube B- without antibiotic
Manipulated Variable: Antibiotic
Responding Variable: Response of the Bacteria (amount of bacterial growth)
Constants: test tube size, nutrient broth, type of bacteria.
Scenario 5- Design your own experiment
Question- Will Brand A plastic wrap keep air away from the seed?
Hypothesis- Any possible answer to the question. Ex- Yes, Brand A plastic wrap will
prevent air from getting to the bean seeds.
Experimental explanation:
For this experiment you are trying to see if the plastic wrap is affective. You know if
plastic wrap is affective because it will keep air away from the food. You can use bean
sprouts to test this because been seeds will not sprout unless they are exposed to air.
Experimental design:
To test the plastic wrap, place several (10) bean seeds in the plastic wrap. Place these on
a window sill. Then take another 10 bean seeds not wrapped in plastic wrap and place
them on the window sill. Observe to see how many seeds germinate.
Sample size:
you need to test more than 1 bean for each group. This is because sometimes seeds are
bad and will not grow because something is wrong with the seed. This is why a large
sample size is important. Large sample sizes can prevent bad data or experimental error
form having a large impact on your results.
Experimental Group: The bean seeds wrapped in brand a plastic wrap
Control Group: The been seeds not wrapped in plastic wrap
Manipulated Variable: plastic wrap
Responding Variable: germination of seeds
Constants: type of been seeds, temperature, amount of light, water, etc.