Scientific Method Variable Practice

Terms to remember Control group- A part of the experiment that is not being tested and is used for comparison (the normal). Variable - Any part of an experiment that can vary. Independent Variable - The part of the experiment that is manipulated or changed by the scientists or person performing the experiment. Dependent Variable - The part of the experiment that is affected by the independent variable. Controlled Variable- Variables that are kept constant (or the normal)

Given the information in the experiment, determine the answers to the questions.

1. Independent variable? ___________________ Fly Away Students at DHS wanted to test if paper weight affects the distance paper airplanes fly. The same type of paper airplanes were folded from three different weight papers. The planes were thrown in the mall area to measure the distance they would fly. What are the following variables? 1. Independent variable? ___________________ 2. Dependent variable? _____________________ 3. Controlled variables? ____________________ Weight of paper Distance the plane flew Type of paper, area where the plane was thrown, same folding, …………………………….

1. Independent variable? ___________________ Lemonade A group of students was asked to compare the taste of lemonade. One glass was from a pitcher made with one cup of sugar. The second glass was made from a pitcher with two cups of sugar. Both pitchers used the same amount of water, lemon juice, and ice. What are the following variables? Amount of sugar 1. Independent variable? ___________________ 2. Dependent variable? _____________________ 3. Controlled variables? ____________________ Taste Ice, amount of water, lemon juice, ……..

1. Independent variable? ___________________ Follow the light Students in a science class did an experiment in which they pointed a flashlight at a screen. They put the flashlight at a different distance from the screen. They measured the diameter of the lighted spot. What are the variables? Flashlight distance 1. Independent variable? ___________________ 2. Dependent variable? _____________________ 3. Controlled variables? ____________________ Diameter of light Same flashlight, …………………..

1. Independent variable? ___________________ Water Density A student wanted to find if temperature had an effect on the density of liquid water. She measured the density of 50 cm3 of water at 0˚C, 20˚C, 40˚C, 60˚C , 80˚C, and 100˚C. What are the variables? Temperature 1. Independent variable? ___________________ 2. Dependent variable? _____________________ 3. Controlled variables? ____________________ Density Type of water, container the water is in, type of thermometer, ………..

1. Which people are in the control group? __________________ Krusty Krabs Breath Mints Mr. Krabs created a secret ingredient for a breath mint that he thinks will “cure” the bad breath people get from eating crabby patties at the Krusty Krab. He asked 100 customers with a history of bad breath to try his new breath mint. He had fifty customers (Group A) eat a breath mint after they finished eating a crabby patty. The other fifty (Group B) also received a breath mint after they finished the sandwich, however, it was just a regular breath mint and did not have the secret ingredient. Both groups were told that they were getting the breath mint that would cure their bad breath. Two hours after eating the crabby patties, thirty customers in Group A and ten customers in Group B reported having better breath than they normally had after eating crabby patties. Group B 1. Which people are in the control group? __________________ 2. What is the independent variable? _______________________ 3. What is the dependent variable? ________________________ Secret ingredient in the breath mint Amount of breath odor (or bad breath)

1. What is the independent variable? _______________________ SpongeBob Clean Pants SpongeBob noticed that his favorite pants were not as clean as they used to be. His friend Sandy told him that he should try using Clean-O detergent, a new laundry soap she found at Sail-Mart. SpongeBob made sure to wash one pair of pants in plain water and another pair in water with the Clean-O detergent. After washing both pairs of pants a total of three times, the pants washed in the Clean-O detergent did not appear to be any cleaner than the pants washed in plain water. Laundry soap 1. What is the independent variable? _______________________ 2. What is the dependent variable? ________________________ 3. What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be? Amount of dirt left on the pants (how clean the pants were) Clean-O laundry soap does not appear to be effective in cleaning his pants.

Squidward’s Symphony Squidward loves playing his clarinet and believes it attracts more jellyfish than any other instrument he has played. In order to test his hypothesis, Squidward played a song on 3 instruments for a total of 5 minutes and counted the number of jellyfish he saw in his front yard. He also recorded the number of jellyfish he observed when he was not playing an instrument. 3 trials with no music 1. What is the control group? _____________________________ 2. What is the independent variable? _______________________ 3. What is the dependent variable? ________________________ Instrument Number of jellyfish

1. Independent variable? ___________________ Super Bubbles Patrick found some Super Bubble Soap at Sail-Mart. The ads claim that Super Bubble Soap will produce bubbles that are twice as big as bubbles made with regular bubble soap. Patrick and SpongeBob made up two samples of bubble solution. One sample was made with 5 oz. of Super Bubble Soap and 5 oz. of water, while the other was made with the same amount of water and 5 oz. of regular bubble soap. Patrick and SpongeBob used their favorite bubble wands to blow 10 different bubbles and did their best to measure the diameter of each one. What are the variables? Type of bubble solution 1. Independent variable? ___________________ 2. Dependent variable? _____________________ 3. Are the results reliable? Why or why not? Size (diameter) of the bubble The description does not say who blew the bubbles for each solution. There may be differences in bubble sizes due to the person blowing the bubble rather than the bubble solution. They might have considered having each person blow 5 bubbles with each solution.