Tabusintac Community School
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Scientific Process
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Identify a Question
or Problem
Very Simple Example an Checklist
Includes independent variable
Includes dependent variable
Tells the reader what the experiment is.
My Lab
Purpose or Research Question:
Ex: “To investigate how the amount of sunlight affects the how
quickly bean plants grow.”
Ex: “How does the amount of sunlight affect how quickly bean
plants grow?”
 You use MLA format to cite your resources (use
www.easybib.com to help you)
 Your resources are trustable
 You move this at the end of your final printed report.
Research
Ex:
Smith, John. “Photosynthesis” University of Botany. Last
updated on January 29, 2010. University of Botany. June 23,
2012. http://plantsandphotosynthesis.edu
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Make a Hypothesis
Bibliography
You make a tentative statement that proposes a possible
explanation to some phenomenon or event.
You explain the scientific reasoning behind your prediction.
Scaffold: If…then…because
Hypothesis:
Ex: “If plant growth is affected by salt in soil, then increasing salt
concentrations will decrease plant growth, because salt is not
essential to the growth of a plant like water, soil and sunlight
are.
Page 1
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Experiment
Part 1: Variables
Listed one independent variable only.
Listed one dependent variable only.
Listed as many controlled variables as necessary to perform
the experiment.
Told how to control each variable.
Make sure you do not control your independent variable!
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Variables:
Ex: Independent Variable: Amount of Sunlight
Dependent Variable: Height of plants
Controlled Variables:
Controlled Variables
How It is Controlled
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All same species of bean.
Temperature
Plants are in same room.
Time
All plants set out at noon.
Soil
Use same soil for all pots.
Experimental Group
Ex:
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Controlled Variables
(What you need to keep constant)
How It is Controlled
Groups
Experimental Group
(What you are experimenting on)
Control Group
(What you are comparing to)
Pot 1 – No sunlight
Bullet list all materials you need
Include size, number, and volume
If necessary, include a diagram of the setup (apparatus)
18 plant pots (small)
1 beaker (50mL)
Soil (2kg)
Dependent Variable
(What you are measuring)
Control Group
Pot 2 – 1 hour of sunlight
Pot 3 – 3 hours of sunlight
Pot 4 – 5 hours of sunlight
Pot 5 – 7 hours of sunlight
Pot 6 – 5 hours of sunlight
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Experiment
Part 3: Materials
Plants get 10mL of water daily.
Type of plant
Does your experiment need a control group? Think: Do I
need something to compare to?
Describe your experimental group.
Describe your control group.
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Experiment
Part 2: Groups
(Sometimes
Unnecessary)
Amount of water
Independent Variable
(What you are manipulating/changing)
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Materials
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1 ruler
36 bean seeds
Water (tap)
Page 2
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Experiment
Part 4: Procedure
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Use all of your materials in your procedure.
Numbered steps.
Enough detail so that anyone could do exactly what you
did.
Try to have at least 2 different variations of your
Independent variable you want to have.
Repeat the experiment at least 3 times.
Procedure
1.
Ex:
1. Take your plant pots and label them 1 - 6.
2. Fill each plant pot with the same amount of soil (almost to
the top).
3. Put 2 seeds in each pot and push them down about 3 cm
under the soil. Then cover the seeds with soil.
4. Give each pot 10mL of water.
5. Keep each pot in the same room in the cupboard. At noon
each day, give each plant 10 mL of water and put the pots
as follows:
Pot 1: No sunlight (always in cupboard)
Pot 2: Place by the window for 1 hour each day.
Pot 3: Place by the window for 3 hours each day.
Pot 4: Place by the window for 5 hours each day.
Pot 5: Place by the window for 7 hours each day.
Pot 6: Place by the window for 9 hours each day.
6. After 7 days, measure the height of each plant and record.
7. Repeat steps 1 – 6 three more times.
Page 3
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Experiment
Part 5:
Observations
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Describe your starting materials.
Describe any changes you saw, smelled, felt.
Record any measurements (use a table if recording many
things).
Include units.
Table has a title.
Qualitative Data (Describe your starting materials and any changes saw, smelled, felt)d
Quantitative Data (Measurements – you may need to make a table!)
Qualitative Data:
- Bean seeds were black and approximately 1 cm in length.
- Soil was black with a lot of organic material and some fertilizer.
- All plants except Plant 1 sprouted after 4 days.
- The bean plants have two leaves that come out of the shells of
the bean.
- Bean Plant 1 was more yellow than the other plants.
Ex: Quantitative Data:
Table 1: Height of Bean Plants after 7 Days
Height of Plant (cm)
Amount of Sunlight (hrs)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
0
0
0
0
1
3
4
3.5
3
6
6
5
5
8
9
8
7
9
10
10
9
12
12
11
Page 4
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Sample Calculations:
Table of Results:
Graph:
Ex:
Sample Calculation For Rate of Growth of Pot 6:
12cm+12cm+11cm
= 11.7 cm
3
11.7 cm / 7 days = 1.7 cm/day
The plant grew an average of 1.7 cm per day.
Table 2: Average Rate of Growth of Bean Plants
Amount of Sunlight
Average Rate of Growth (cm/day)
(hrs)
0
0
1
0.5
3
0.8
5
1.2
7
1.4
9
1.7
Figure 1: Rate of Growth vs Amount of Sunlight
Rate of Growth
(cm/day)
Results
(Analysis)
Included a sample calculation
Included a table of results, with title, and units if necessary.
Included a graph, if necessary.
The graph is appropriate for the data (ie, what is the best
type of graph for this data – bar chart, pie chart, etc?)
All the data points are visible on the graph.
Graph includes a title.
Graph includes labels of axes with units.
The scale of the graph is appropriate.
A line of best fit, if necessary, is included (no connecting
dots)
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
1
3
5
7
9
Amount of Sunlight per day (hrs)
Page 5
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Conclusion
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It is a paragraph.
Stated the purpose of the experiment.
Stated a reasonable conclusion based on the
results, referencing your final calculated
answers.
Compared your results to your prediction.
Never say “you proved” anything. Say “results
support our prediction…”
Commented on the validity of the results and
explain how you know your results are valid or
not. If they are not valid, comment on what
went wrong. (See diagram and use chart)
Commented on the reliability of the results, and
explain how you know your results are reliable.
If they are unreliable, comment on what about
your procedure caused these problems. (See
diagram and use chart)
Suggested improvements that would
improvements to the experiment.
Commented on the real life applications of the
results.
Suggested further research that could be done.
Validity and Reliability Planning Chart
Once you finish this chart, use it to write sentences in your final conclusion. Do not copy and past this into your final document, it
is only a planner.
How valid are your results?
Ie, My results are valid, generally valid
or invalid.
Remember, invalid results = you cannot
comment on whether it supports your
hypothesis or not.
Explain how you came to that conclusion
about your validity.
If you felt your results were not valid or
could be more valid, what about your
experiment caused this?
How precise are your results?
Ie, My results are precise or imprecise.
Explain how you came to that conclusion
about your precision.
If you felt your results were not precise,
or could be more precise, what about
your experiment caused this?
Conclusion
Ex: The purpose of this experiment was to measure
the effect of the amount of sunlight on the rate of
growth of bean plants. The results show that the
plants that received the most sunlight (9 hours)
grew at an average rate of 1.7 cm/day, while the
Page 6
plants that received 1 hour of sunlight per day grew
at only 0.5 cm/day. The plant that received no
sunlight did not grow at all. These results support
the prediction that more sunlight increases the
growth rate of the bean plants. The results are
generally valid due to controlling many of the
relevant variables well, however, some days there
was some inconsistency with Pot 4 as sometimes it
was left in the sun slightly longer than 5 hours
(which likely explains why the graphed results show
a larger increase at 5 hours than the trend would
predict). Furthermore, due to photosynthesis being
the reason for plant growth, and photosynthesis
requiring sunlight, the results make scientific sense.
Each of the 3 trials gave similar trends in results, so
we are confident that the results are precise. In the
future, the experiment could be improved by having
a constant source of light every day and ensuring all
plants were left in the sunlight for the correct
amount of time. The results could help in the
planning of greenhouses or when predicting the
growth rate of bean plants in different parts of the
world based on the amount of sunlight they receive.
Further study could be done into the yield of the
bean seeds related to the amount of sunlight the
bean plants receive.
Page 7