Name: _____________________________
Date: _______________
Hr: _____
Scientific Method with Mythbusters
The Myth: If caught in a rainstorm, you will stay drier if by running for shelter, instead of walking.
Experimental Setup: The Mythbusters set up a controlled experiment to compare the amount of rainwater
absorbed by walking versus running a set distance.
Background Questions:
(Answer before watching the episode!)
1. Define, in your own words, each of these steps of the scientific method:
Observation – What you notice about an experiment using your senses. Describes what’s happening.
Question – The initial reason for the experiment (what the experimenter wants to find out).
Hypothesis – Experimenter’s theory/guess on what will happen and why.
Experiment – The process in which the experimenter tests his hypothesis.
Data analysis – Considers all qualitative/quantitative data and looks for relationships between the
variables. Experimenter tries to understand what happened in the experiment and
why.
Conclusion – Summarize the results of the experiment using data as support to reject or accept the
hypothesis. Make changes for the future and retest.
2. What is the question that the Mythbusters are asking?
“Do you get wetter by walking or running in the rain”?
3. Come up with a hypothesis for this question. “if… then… because” statement
Example) If you walk in the rain you will get wetter because you’re spending more time to get hit by
raindrops.
4. The Mythbusters have two options: conduct the experiment indoors in controlled conditions, or outdoors
in nature. What are the pros and cons of each?
Indoor:
Pro: More controlled (how much rain, wind speed)
Con: Unnatural settings
Outdoor:
Pro: Natural rain conditions
Con: uncontrollable and unpredictable
5. What is the independent variable to be tested in this experiment?
Running or walking in the rain (time in seconds)
6. What is the dependent variable to be measured in this experiment? How much rain is absorbed (grams)
7. What are some controls (constants) for this experiment? Walking/running distance, amount of rain, wind
speed.
8. Why is it important to have controls in experiments? To understand if the results of the experiment are
due solely because of the variable being tested and no other outside factors.
9. Adam and Jamie each did 4 trials: walking without wind, running without wind, walking with wind, and
running with wind. Do you think this is enough data? Why/why not?
No, because only two test subjects are used for the experiment which is a small sample size. And each of
them only perform each test once. More trials would give more reliable data.
10. This is the data table based on the Mythbusters’ results. Calculate the mass of water absorbed in each trial
and the water absorbed per second for each trial.
Water absorbed
per second (g/s)
Trial
Wind
Time (s)
Initial Mass of
Suit (g)
Final Mass of
Suit (g)
Water
Absorbed (g)
Adam walk
No
18.28
757
785
28
1.53
Jamie walk
No
17.84
757
790
33
1.85
Adam run
No
7.06
757
799
42
5.95
Jamie run
No
6.59
757
793
36
5.46
Adam walk
Yes
17.40
757
789
32
1.84
Jamie walk
Yes
17.56
757
788
31
1.77
Adam run
Yes
6.98
757
801
44
6.30
Jamie run
Yes
6.51
757
790
33
5.07
11. Calculate the average amount of water absorbed in the running and walking trials:
Avg. Water Absorbed (Running) = 38.75 g
Avg. Water Absorbed (Walking) = 31 g
12. Based on the data recorded in the table above, generate a scatterplot graph. Mark the walking trials on
the graph with an “x”, and the running trials with an “o”. The independent variable should go on the xaxis, and the dependent variable on the y-axis. Label both axes!
13. What conclusion did the Mythbusters make as a result of this experiment? Did their conclusion agree or
disagree with that of the two meteorologists? Which do you think is a more accurate conclusion? Explain
your choice.
The Mythbusters concluded that you get wetter if you run through the rain. The average amount of
water absorbed when walking was 31g versus the amount of water absorbed was 38.75g when running
in the rain. This is the opposite conclusion of the meteorologists, as they concluded that you get wetter
when walking. I think that the Mythbusters’ conclusion is more accurate as they had a controlled
environment.