Mentor Training Meeting (#2)
Nov 22, 2012
Meeting Agenda
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Progress Review
Testable Question
Hypothesis (+Null) Formulation
Project Approval Required
Lab Notebook
December Tasks
Reminders
 Mentor Training Checklist #2
Progress Review
 Met your buddy earlier this month, and have been
communicating (using email protocol) once a week
 Turn in all required forms with signatures
 Both you and buddy have agreed on mutual
responsibilities and understand overall tasks and timeline
 Worked through project ideas section in binder and have
chosen (or narrowed down) a topic of interest
 Start working on background research
 Start forming a testable question
on the chosen topic
Forming a Testable Question
A question should be testable, or can be answered by
experimentation:
 What can you discover or measure by performing
your experiment?
Example: “What is the effect of exercise
on heart rate?”
Note: A common mistake is when students choose to create a
“demonstration” such like a volcano, but it CAN’T be numerically
measured
Tips: Questions to Avoid
 Any topic that’s based on a simple preference or taste
comparison
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Example: “Which tastes better: Coke or Pepsi?”
Why? Too subjective. Need variables allowing numerical
measurements
 Topics that are difficult to perform or repeat
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Example: measuring nanoparticles or building complex
structure
 Topics that involve dangerous, hard-to-find, expensive or
illegal materials
Testable Question (cont.)
 A Testable Question often begins with:
~ How, What, Who, Which, Why, or Where
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Or, often it could have the word “affect” in the middle of it:
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Example: if you’re interested in robots, your question might
be: “How much current does a robot’s arm use to lift a
weight?”
Example: “Does the height of the ramp affect how far the ball
will roll?”
*** Make sure that your Testable Question MUST involve
factors or traits (variables) that you can clearly
measure/identify
How to Form a Hypothesis
• A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work:
• Basic structure:
"If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen."
(Fill in the blanks with the appropriate information from your
own experiment.)
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Note: sometimes a hypothesis will also include a “because”
statement at the end
How to Form a Hypothesis (cont.)
• Your hypothesis should be a testable hypothesis
• In other words, you need to be able to measure both “what
you do” (ie, Independent Variable) and “what will happen”
(ie, Dependable Variable)
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Definition:
• Independent variable (IV): The variable that is changed by the scientist.
• Dependent variable (DV): The variable the scientist observes.
• Controlled variables (CV): Those quantities that a scientist wants to
remain constant throughout the experiment.
How to Form a Null Hypothesis
NULL HYPOTHESIS ~ think of it as a backward way of looking
at things. That is, if the null hypothesis says that what you do
will have no effect. Then, if you can disprove that, you can
have some confidence that it did indeed have an effect.
Example:
Hypothesis: If I add nutrient A to a plant, then this will make the plant
grow taller.
Null Hypothesis: If I add nutrient A to a plant, then this will have no
effect on the growth in height of the plant.
If you can disprove your null hypothesis (ie, your dependent
variable (= nutrient) is indeed experimentally connected to the
independent variable (= plant growth in length)), it will support
your original hypothesis.
Example of Variables
• Testable Question:
• Ex: “Does heating a cup of water allow it to dissolve more
sugar?”
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Independent Variable (IV):
Temperature of the water, measured in Fahrenheit (°F)
• Dependent Variable (DV):
Amount of sugar that dissolves completely, measured in gram
=> This is the measured outcome you get
• Controlled Variables (CV):
Stirring or not, type of sugar, etc, etc.
ie, these are variables that are held constant
Lab Notebook
 The lab notebook should read like a diary from the
beginning to the end of the project
 Suggested Table of Content:
Choosing a Project
Literary Research
Experimental Research (hypothesis / variables /
procedures / materials, special forms, etc.)
Daily Log (dates, data, thoughts, processes, etc.)
 Suggested format: Use complete sentences / data
tables, if possible
 Your buddy must have their lab notebook
at all buddy meetings, and during
experiment.
December Tasks
 Finalize Topic / Testable Question for approval, if you
haven’t already done so
 Discuss how to use a Lab Notebook with buddy
 Continue with more Background Research
 Form a Hypothesis (+null)
 Identify Independent/Dependent/Control Variables
 Draft a Procedure and Materials list
 Review appropriate binder sections with buddy
Due Dec. 20 ~ Topic / Testable Question, Hypothesis,
Control, Variables, Proposed Procedure & Materials
Project Approval Required
• All experiments require approval by the Advisor, Mrs.
Bandrowski, before experimentation. Any question,
contact us at:
• admin@mvsciencealliance.org
• AND Mrs. Bandrowski at
• L.Bandrowski@mvsciencealliance.org
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• In the subject line put:
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“SA Project Approval Request” ~ if seeking approval for
project
“SA Project Materials Request” ~ if seeking to borrow
materials.
Reminders!
 Make sure you email your buddy at least once a week!
o Don’t forget to CC communications, your mentor trainer,
and the buddy’s parent
 If they don’t reply, CALL them 
Mentor-Buddy Meeting, next Monday
Dec 3, 2012, after school
3:15pm – 5:30pm
Write it in your planner!