Lab 1 & 2: Scientific Method, Measurement and Graphs

What is an observation and give an example.

An initial observation is made about a phenoenon in the natural world.

Plants tend to bend towards the light.

What is a question in a scientific method? Give an example.

Why do the plants bend towards the light?

What is a hypothesis? Give an example?

A possible explanation of the phenomemon, or answer to the question proposed. For instance, plants bend towards light because they grow faster on the side that receives more light.

What is an independent variable?

The variable that is changed by the investigator. The variable that is thought to have an impact on the dependent variable. For example, the amount of light given to plants.

What is the dependent variable?

This is the variable that is measured, counted, or recorded by the investigator. It is affected by changes in the independent variable, such as the growth of plants in response to different light levels.

What are standardized variables?

These are variables that are kept the same in all treatments, so that any changes in the dependent variable can be attributed solely to changes in the independent variable. For example, the type of plant used to measure height when exposed to different amount of sunlight. The amount of water the plants receive. The type of soil they are planted in.

What is a control treatment?

The one where the independent variable is either eliminated or set as a standard value. The results of it is compared to other treatments to assess the effect of the independent variable.

What is qualitative data?

data that describes characteristics or qualities, often collected through observations, surveys, or interviews, and not involving numerical measurements.

What is quantitative data?

Data that involves numerical measurements or counts, allowing for statistical analysis and comparisons.

State the Independent, dependent and control variables.

An experiment that shows how light exposure duration affects plant growth.

IV: light exposure
DV: plant growth
CV: no light exposure

State the Independent, dependent and control variables.

An experiment that measures how nitrogen fertilizer concentration affects the days to flowering of tomato plants.

IV: nitrogen fertilizer concentration
DV: days of flowering of tomato plants
CV: tomato plants with no fertilizer

State the Independent, dependent and control variables.

An experiment that shows how the duration of study time affect the exam scores.

IV: study time
DV: exam scores
CV: no study time

Which is easier to use: imperial or metric? Why?

Metric. It is based off of powers of 10 which makes conversion easier.

When is it preferred to use a line graph?

Used to compare changes in a dependent variable when the independent variable is continuous. (e.g. Graphing the height of plants in the span of weeks).

When is it preferred to use a bar graph?

Used when we are comparing outcomes between different groups. e.g. rainfall in SCV compared to rainfall in SFV in all 12 months of 2024.

What is a best fit line?

It is a straight line that passes through as many data points as possible and it allows us to see the general trend of the data.