CATALYST
1. What are the three components that
go into every hypothesis?
HINT: If […], then […] because […].
2. What are three parts of the
experiment step in the scientific
method?
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TASKS
1.
2.
You will turn-in a separate sheet of paper with
your answers to the questions/excercises that
are embedded in this Powerpoint
Take Cornell notes on Writing a Lab Report and
Designing an Experiment
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OBJECTIVE
By the end of today, you will be able to design an
experiment and submit a lab report.
Today you will plan out your experiment and write
up
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STEP 1: ASK A
QUESTION = research question
Choose a topic that interests you!
 KYSS – Keep Your Science Simple
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Pick a question that is clearly stated, straight
forward, and narrow
Bad example: How does heat affect different liquids?
Bad example: Which do people like better, rap or
rock?
Good example: Which material is the best insulator,
air, cotton, or water?
Good example: What concentration of alcohol is
needed to kill 50% of germs on a surface?
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EXERCISE: ADJUST THE
QUESTION
Adjust these questions so that they are
more appropriate for a scientific experiment:
1. How does heat affect different liquids?
2.
Which do people like better, rap or rock music?
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STEP 2: BACKGROUND
Research your topic to learn
as much about it as you can
 Describe any background information and/or
formulas that are relevant to the experiment
 You should have at least 3 sources of written
These
information on your topic
are the
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sources
NOT Sources:
Wikipedia
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These are the sources on Wikipedia
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AT LEAST 3 SOURCES
PURPOSE
Validate what you’re stating
 Enhance the scientific content that applies to
your experiment (such as explaining key
terms/concepts)
 Interesting tid-bits or facts that apply to your
experiment
 Cannot be used for common knowledge
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DOCUMENTATION!
Maintain a notes-page for your background
research
 Notes should be identified by the SOURCE
(website, author, date retrieved)
 Incorporate your notes as in-text citations into
your narrative
 Create a bibliography (Works Cited, References
List)
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PLEASE REFER TO YOUR GLUE-IN
FOR IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND
REFERENCE LIST
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STEP 3: PLAN EFFECTIVELY
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Plan out the purpose of your experiment and
visualize how you will perform it
Should be able to gather all materials and safely
perform the experiment
Your hypothesis must answer your research
question
Variables
 Independent Variable should be easy to change
 Dependent Variable should be measured by a
quantity such as count, length, percentage, time, etc.
 Control Variables should be easy to control
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GOOD EXAMPLE: PLAN EFFECTIVELY
Which paper towel brand is the strongest, Bounty,
Brawny, or Viva?
If I test the strength of different paper towel
brands by seeing how much weight they can hold,
then Bounty will be able to hold the most weight
because it is the most expensive.
IV: Paper towel brand
DV: Amount of weight (in grams) held
CV: dryness of paper towels, number of sheets, type
of weights used, no wind
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EXERCISE: PLAN EFFECTIVELY
Create an effective hypothesis, independent
variable, dependent variable, and control
variables for the following question:
Does age affect human reaction time?
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STEP 4: PREPARE
Gather all materials
 Write detailed, stepby-step procedures
that anyone can
follow
 DESIGN your data
table(s): make sure
that you’re
ready for data
collection: please
refer to your gluein “Making a Data
Table”
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STEP 5: EXPERIMENT!
Document all data and important observations
 Plan ahead - take photos!
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Create a graph/chart to
display your findings.
 T.A.L.K.S.
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STEP 6: ANALYZE
Title (dependent and
independent variables)
Axes (x= independent variable
& y= dependent variable)
Labels (unit of measurement in
parentheses)
Key
Scale
Analysis paragraph should
include the following:
Mention the significant data
points
 Discuss the trend(s)
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EXERCISE: answer the following questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Why was a line graph used?
What is the dependent
variable?
What is the independent
variable?
What is the unit of
measurement and which
axis is it on?
Mention the significant data
points.
Discuss the trend(s).
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STEP 6: ANALYZE AND CONCLUDE
As soon as you’re done, ask
yourself: “What happened?”
 Do your results agree with
your hypothesis?
 Create a graph/chart to
display your findings.
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STEP 7: WRITE YOUR REPORT, CREATE
YOUR DISPLAY, AND REHEARSE.
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BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN!
You can test ANYTHING you want! As long as
you follow these guidelines for the experiment,
you can’t go wrong!
 Judges will always appreciate thinking outside
the box [video]
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EXERCISE: SAMPLE EVALUATION
Using your guidelines, evaluate the sample science
fair proposal provided to your table based on the
following criteria:
Section
Ranking
(1-4)
Research Question is interesting, simple (clear,
straightforward, narrow), and can be done within a week
Background-At least 3 written sources are available
Experiment can be visualized and materials can be
obtained
Hypothesis a measurable/identifiable prediction that
answers the research question
Independent Variable is easy to change
Dependent Variable is quantified (count, length,
percentage, time, etc.)
4-Exceeds
3-Meets
2-Approaching
Control Variables
control all aspects
of the experiment
Procedures are detailed and allow others to repeat the
experiment
1-Fail
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
Turn-in your answers to the teacher. Make sure that
your name, #, and date are on the paper!
Number your INB notes pages
 Write the next page number on the appropriate
right-side page of your INB
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