Name ________KEY______________________________ Date _____________ Per. _____
- ____
Graphing and Conclusions
The following are examples of data collected by scientists. Look at the data, make a graph (bar,
line or pie), and write your own conclusion for each experiment. Make all graphs and
conclusions on your own paper and attach them to this worksheet.
1. Fuel Efficiency in Automobiles:
A group of scientists were studying fuel efficiency of various automobiles. For three weeks they
reported how many miles per gallon three different compact cars received and how many miles
per gallon three different full sized cars received.
Hypothesis: Compact cars are more fuel efficient than full-size cars.
Miles Per Gallon
Cars
Compact 1
Compact 2
Compact 3
Full-sized 1
Full-sized 2
Full-sized 3
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Average
29 mpg
28 mpg
23 mpg
18 mpg
17 mpg
20 mpg
30 mpg
28.5 mpg
24 mpg
17 mpg
16 mpg
21 mpg
29.5 mpg
28 mpg
25 mpg
17.5 mpg
15.5 mpg
22 mpg
29.5
28.2
24
17.5
16.2
21
Graph the car’s average mpg using a bar graph and write a conclusion.
3pts
Miles per Gallon (mph)
Fuel Efficiency in Automobliles
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Series1
Compact Compact Compact Full-size Full-size Full-size
1
2
3
1
2
3
Type of Car
Remember: In an experiment, two or more groups of subjects are compared with one
another. The groups are identical except for one factor called the independent variable.
Independent Variable: (x-axis) what you choose to change in an experiment.
In this experiment, the independent variable is: ___Type of Car___________
Dependent Variable: (y-axis) the variable that is measured during an experiment.
The value of the dependent variable DEPENDS on the independent variable. As the
independent variable changes, the dependent variable changes.
In this experiment, the dependent variable is: ___Miles per gallon_________
Conclusion: (5 pts)
Restate: Problem, Hypothesis (supported or failure to support),
Data/Experiment, Final thoughts & did you read the data right.
The scientist wanted to know what kind of car (compact or full-
5 pts
sized) was the most fuel efficient. They hypothesized that the
compact cars would be more fuel efficient than the larger cars. The
scientist hypothesis was supported by the data. The Compact cars
were on average 9 miles per gallon more fuel efficient than the fullsized cars. Therefore, if you want a car that gets good gas mileage,
you may want to buy a compact car.
2. Caffeine and Microbes:
A scientist is concerned about the effect of caffeine on teenagers. He believes that caffeine may
be causing teenage obesity. Before he begins studying actual humans he is going to study the
effect of caffeine on microbes. He placed microbes in a Petri dish with varying amounts of
caffeine in the dish.
Hypothesis:
When caffeine is placed in the dish with the microbes, the microbes will eat more
food.
Food Eaten (in micrograms)
5 ul of caffeine
10 ul of caffeine
5 ug
4ug
7 ug
6ug
3 ug
2 ug
Microbes used
E. coli
Yeast
Amoeba
15 ul of caffeine
2 ug
3 ug
2 ug
Make a line graph with three lines (one for each microbe tested) OR a bar graph
and write a conclusion.
(Hint: X-axis = amount of caffeine, Y-axis = amount of food eaten.
Use a different color for each microbe’s data).
4
pts
Amount of Food Eaten (ug)
Caffeine and Microbes
8
7
6
5
E. Coli
4
Yeast
3
Amoeba
2
1
0
51
102
Amount of Caffeine (ul)
153
Caffeine and Microbes
7
Food Eaten
6
5
4
E. Coli
3
Yeast
2
Amoeba
1
0
5 ul
10 ul
15 ul
Caffeine
Conclusion:
5
The scientist wanted to know if caffeine had an effect on how much
food teenagers eat. He hypothesized that if caffeine were added to a
dish of microbes that they would eat more food. Each time he added
more caffeine the amount of food the microbes ate decreased (as
shown in the line graph). Therefore, he concluded that the caffeine
actually decreases the amount of food you eat. The data failed to
support the scientist’s hypothesis.