The Scientific Method - Practice Scenarios

The Scientific Method

Practice Scenarios

Al’s salt water experiment

Al wonders if adding salt to water will affect how long it takes the water to freeze. He thinks that salt water will freeze more quickly than fresh water. He decides to check his hypothesis by conducting an experiment.

Multiple Choice

What would be the Independent Variable in Al´s experiment?

• The time it takes the water to freeze

• The type of water

• The container the water is placed in

• The amount of water

Multiple Choice

What would be the Dependent Variable in Al´s experiment?

• The time it takes the water to freeze.

• The type of water

• The container the water is placed in.

• The amount of water

Multiple Select

What would be the Controlled Variables (Constants) in Al´s experiment?

• The time it takes the water to freeze

• The type of water

• The container the water is placed in.

• The amount of water

Al’s salt water experiment

In this experiment Al thought the salt water would freeze more quickly than freshwater. To test Al´s hypothesis, he takes two ice trays and fills one with distilled water and the other with distilled water that has two tablespoons of salt added. He makes sure he puts exactly the same amount of water in each ice tray. He takes the trays and puts them side by side in the freezer. He checks the ice trays every 10 minutes to see if the water in each tray has begun to freeze. Al finds that after 20 minutes the water in the ice tray without the salt has started to form ice, while the ice tray with the salt water is still completely liquid.

Multiple Choice

Was Al´s hypothesis supported by his data?

• Supported

• Not Supported

• Partially Supported

Peter's Musical Experiment

Peter loves music. He believes that he does his homework better and faster when he listens to music. His parents say that music is distracting when studying.

Multiple Choice

What would Peter's Independent Variable be?

• Listening to music

• How long it takes to finish his homework

• Homework score

• Distractions in the study area

Multiple Select

What would Peter's Dependent Variable be? (careful...there could be more than one)

• Listening to music

• How long it takes to finish his homework

• Homework score

• Distractions in the study area

Multiple Select

What would be the controlled variables for Peter's experiment?

• Type of homework assignment

• How long it takes to finish his homework

• Listening to music

• Homework score

• Distractions in the study area

Multiple Choice

What was the independent variable in the germination experiment?

• Amount of sprouted seeds

• Amount of Light

• Amount of Water

• Amount of Heat

Multiple Choice

What was the dependent variable in the germination experiment?

• Amount of sprouted seeds

• Amount of Light

• Amount of Water

• Amount of Heat

If I increase the amount of water given to seed B then more seeds will sprout.

Use the image on the next slide to determine if the hypothesis above would be supported or not?

Multiple Choice

According to the data given, the hypothesis was...

• Supported

• Not Supported

• Partially Supported

Multiple Choice

In the "growing plants" experiment, what was the independent variable?

• Height of the Plant

• Amount of Water

• Amount of Light

• Type of nutrients in the soil

Multiple Select

In the "growing plants" experiment, what were the dependent variables?

• Height of the Plant

• Mass of the Plant

• Amount of Light

• Type of nutrients in the soil