Name: ________________
Scientific Investigation Study Guide
DIRECTIONS: Place the following in logical order by writing the numbers 1 through 6 in the
spaces provided.
____________ a. Test hypothesis through experimentation
____________ b. Record and analyze data
____________ c. Form a hypothesis
____________ d. Check/share your work
____________ e. Identify the problem/gather information
____________ f. Draw conclusions
DIRECTIONS: Answer the following.
7. Scenario: Megan and Keri notice that all of the grass on a certain part of their school’s
football field looks different from the rest of the grass.
Megan and Keri have made a(n) _______________________________.
8. The factors/things that do not change in an experiment are called ________________________.
9. In the lab, scientists often make logical conclusions immediately after completing their experiments
or observations. These explanations are referred to as _______________________________.
10. The unchanged group in an experiment that is used for comparison is the __________________.
11. During a scientific investigation the __________________________________ is the variable
that changes first to test the hypothesis.
12. When a number of experiments are conducted over a long period of time and many observations by
different people have been noted, the explanation of the results is usually referred to as
a(n) ____________________________.
13. The change or result that occurs in response to something else changing during a scientific
investigation is referred to as the __________________________________.
14. A prediction or possible solution to a problem is a(n) ____________________________.
15. Directions– Austin wants to find out if green light causes plants to grow more than yellow,
red, and white lights. Decide if each procedure is a valid (fair) way for Austin to test his
hypothesis. Write “Yes” for valid (fair) and “No” for invalid (not fair) beside each sentence.
a. He uses the same kind of plant under each color of light.
b. He gives the plant under the green light twice the amount of water as the other plants.
c. He gives each plant the same amount of fertilizer and water.
d. He puts the plant under the green light for only half as much time as the other colors of light.
e. He uses a different type of plant under each light.
16. Directions- Read the following paragraph and identify the parts of the controlled experiment.
Ms. France wanted to see how different types of music affected her daughter’s pulse rate. She
thought that if Jaden listens to classical music then her pulse rate would be lower. Ms. France
recorded Jaden’s average pulse with no music to be 90 beats per minute (bpm). She played different
types of music for ten minutes each and recorded Jaden’s pulse rate. Ms. France completed 2 trials for
each type of music. Her average results are recorded in the chart below.
Type of music
Average pulse
rate (bpm)
Heavy metal
140
Hip-hop
120
R&B
80
Country
110
Classical
70
a. What is the purpose/problem?
d. Identify the dependent variable.
b. Underline the hypothesis statement.
e. Identify the constants.
c. Identify the independent variable.
f. What would be the control in this type of
experiment?
Directions: Use the graph the answer the following questions.
17. Which one of the statement below is TRUE
based on the data in the graph?
A. Chirps are the independent variable while
temperature is the dependent variable.
B. The number of chirps decreases as the
temperature increases.
C. Temperature is the independent variable
while chirps are the dependent variable.
D. There is no relation between temperature
and chirps.
18. How many chirps per minute where
recorded when the temperature was 10oC?