Activity #1
“What does a
scientist do?”
Essential Question: What does a scientist do?
Essential Vocabulary: hypothesis, analyze, conclusion, variable (independent, dependent), procedure
Essential Standards: S6CS1. Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism
in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.
MCC6.EE.9 Use variables to represent two quantities in a real‐ world problem that change in relationship to one
another; write an equation to express one quantity, thought of as the dependent variable, in terms of the other
quantity, thought of as the independent variable. Analyze the relationship between the dependent and independent
variables using graphs and tables, and relate these to the equation.
MCC6.SP.1 Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question
and accounts for it in the answers. For example, “How old am I?” is not a statistical question, but “How old are the
students in my school?” is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students’ ages.
MCC6.SP.2 Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be
described by its center, spread, and overall shape.
MCC6.SP.3 Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single
number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number.
Essential Documents:
 Lab Report Template
 Penny Lab Activity
Activity: Penny Lab
This activity is an introduction to the world of asking questions. Students will use this activity to help them
understand the expectations each lab-type activity we complete for the remainder of the school year. It is a brief
introduction to the Scientific Method. Before beginning the activity, students should discuss briefly the steps or
components of the Scientific Method and the purpose behind have a set guideline in the scientific community.
Materials:
● Lab notebook
● Lab report outline
● 1 penny per group
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1 eye dropper per group
paper towels
2 small cups of water per group – one labeled “clean” and one labeled “rinse”
Other liquids for each group to choose one from
(i.e. corn syrup, vegetable oil, dish detergent, etc.)
Before you begin, have students hypothesize about how many water droplets the penny can hold without any going
over. Use the Lab Report Template as a guide.
Procedures:
1. Rinse your penny in water from the “rinse” cup and dry it with the paper towel.
2. Place the penny on paper towel, either heads up or tails up (throughout the lab, always lay the penny the
same way).
3. Use the eye dropper to drop water on the penny (water from the “clean” cup), slowly and one at a time until
any amount of water runs over the edge of the penny.
4. Record the number of drops for that trial in a table. (See Below)
5. Repeat steps 1-4 a minimum of four more times.
6. Now, choose one liquid from the lab table to coat your penny in and coat it, tapping any excess off gently.
7. Place the penny on the paper towel, the same direction as before (heads or tails).
8. Use the eye dropper to place drops of water on the penny (water from the “clean” cup), slowly and one at a
time until any amount of water runs over the edge of the penny.
9. Record the number of drops for that trial in the table (See Below)
10. Rinse the penny in the “rinse” cup.
11. Repeat steps 6-9 a minimum of four more time.
Students will complete this activity using their lab report template. This should allow the students to look back at
what happened, were their hypotheses correct? Discuss with the students that this is how scientists work! They
have a problem (water drops on a penny), they use prior knowledge and research to be able to hypothesize (penny
will hold 7 drops), they use experiments (drops on penny) and variables (dry penny vs. coated penny) to gather
information (tables), and then they look at the information and draw conclusions and complete a short write-up that
discusses their findings. Teacher should then have a group discussion with students on the importance of the
Scientific Method, collecting data, and repeating experiments.
Lab Report Template
Title:
 A brief concise, yet descriptive title
Statement of the Problem:
 What question(s) are you trying to answer?
 Include any preliminary observations or background information about the subject
Hypothesis:
 Write a possible solution for the problem
 Make sure this possible solution is a complete sentence
 Make sure the statement is testable
 The statement should reference the independent and dependent variables: such as “The plant group receiving (independent
variable i.e. fertilizer) will (dependent variable i.e. produce more fruit) than the plants that did not receive (independent
variable i.e. fertilizer)
Materials:
 Make a list of all items used in the lab
Procedure:
 Write a paragraph or a list which explains what you did in the lab.
 Your procedure should be written so than anyone else could repeat the experiment.
Results:
 This section should include any data tables, observations, or additional notes you make during the lab.
 Although some students may wish to recopy original data: it is important to always preserve the original
 You may attach a separate sheet(s) if necessary.
 All tables, graphs and charts should be labeled appropriately.
Conclusions:
 Accept or reject your hypothesis
 EXPLAIN why you accepted or rejected your hypothesis using data from the lab.
 Include a summary of the data – averages, highest, lowest, etc. to help the reader understand your results.
 List one thing you learned and describe how it applies to a real-life situation.
 Discuss possible errors that could have occurred in the collection of data (experimental errors)
Reflection:
 Write a brief reflection.
 This can be used in your Electronic Portfolio.
Activity #1 Examples
Penny #1 Table Example
(Dry penny)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
20
20
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Penny #2 Table Example
(Penny dipped in
)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
7
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Penny Lab Example Pictures