PE 1-3: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback
mechanisms maintain homeostasis.
th
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DUE DATE – Oct. 30 (odd), Oct. 31 (even)
Directions:
You will work in a group of 4 to plan and conduct a lab report.
Each member of the group is responsible for writing and submitting their own lab report.
Lab reports should be typed or neatly written.
Lab reports should contain the following sections in this order –
o Title (centered at the top)
o *Background Research – in addition to your paragraph, include a diagram of the feedback loop for your
particular “variable”
o Question
o Hypothesis – If ______ then _______ because ______.
o Materials – a bulleted list
o Procedure – Numbered steps, written like a cooking recipe. BE SPECIFIC!!
o Data – displayed in a table
o Results – this should be a graph of your data
o *Conclusion – paragraph written following the guidelines presented in the notes
o Works Cited page
*While most sections of the lab report will be similar, if not identical, all students should have a background research
section and conclusion section that is unique to them. You will be marked down if your background research or
conclusion completely matches any of those belonging to your group members!
PROCEDURE:
Step 1 – Form your group
Step 2 – Receive your assigned topic from your teacher.
Step 3 – Conduct background research
Research Guidelines
- You will be given a selection of resources to help with your background research, but NOT all of them are
appropriate for use in a research report. You must decide which ones are appropriate and use them as your
sources of information.
- Consider the following to evaluate the reliability of a source:
o Make sure the website/article is up to date.
o Use websites that cite their sources.
o Avoid citing commercial websites (.com).
o Do not cite Wikipedia or similar user-edited sites.
o The credentials of the author/how well-qualified they are to be discussing the topic
Step 4 – Develop your hypothesis, procedure, and data table
Hypothesis: If__________________, then __________________, because________________.
Procedure: Make sure your procedure is detailed!!!! And covers every single tiny action that you do. (Your
teacher should be able to take your finished procedure and do everything you did without having to guess.)
o Make sure you have at least 3 trials. You may use multiple subjects if you wish.
Data Collection Tips:
Finding a baseline or control – take initial observations of your test subject while at rest
o For Skin Color – observe hands and face (normal, pink, red)
o For Body Temperature – Place thermometer in test subject’s armpit for 1 minute; the thermometer
should be directly against the skin
o For Breaths per minute – count breaths for 1 minute
o For Heart Rate – use the forearm or neck to find the pulse and count heart beats for 1 minute
Suggested Activity & Time Intervals
o Running, Jumping Jacks, Step ups, Burpees, Jumping Rope, Push ups, Sit Ups, Air Squats, etc
o 2 minute intervals until 8 minutes is reached
o After your peak level of activity, give subject a 1 minute rest and take readings again to observe how they
are changing.
Data table must have a section for the average of your three trials
Step 5 – Get Teacher Approval
Step 6 – Conduct Experiment & collect Data
Be sure to use data table with Independent Variable and Dependent Variables
Step 7 – Construct a graph of your data
• Must have a title
• Must have x (independent variable) and y (dependent variable) axes that are labeled
• Have an equal distance between each number and use 75% of the graphing area.
• Must have a key if using more than one data set
Step 8 – Write your conclusion paragraph
• Sentence 1 - Restate the purpose of your lab = The purpose of our lab was ____
• Sentence 2 - Restate your hypothesis = Our hypothesis was _____.
• Sentence 3-6 - Summarize your procedure in 2-3 sentences = To test our hypothesis we ____.
• Sentence 7-8 - Summarize your results/data in 1-2 sentences= Our results were ____.
• Sentence 9 - Do your results/data support or reject your hypothesis = These results (support/reject) our hypothesis.
• Sentence 10 – Explain the changes you observed. = What is the body attempting to accomplish? Your answer
should include the words “homeostasis” and “negative feedback mechanism”
Step 9 – Create your works cited page
- Refer to guidelines in background research article packet – also posted to schoology
Step 9 – Create your Final Draft
Typed or written NEATLY