Inquiry Science
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Comments, Suggestions, Questions, Answers, Riddles, &
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Opportunities in Class
My students will have at least
four inquiry experimental opportunities.
We have done the following labs to develop our scientific
inquiry skills. I've given each student a guide to use when they
write an experimental report.
Accelerated
Biology
- Fortune
Fish ... What causes the fish to curl more? Used to
introduce scientific experiments.
- Acid Rain Lab -
The Effects of Acid Rain on Seed Germination.
- Egg Lab - How is
osmosis affected by solute concentration?
- Catalase Lab -
How is this enzyme's activity affected by pH & temperature?
- Respiration Lab -
Determine the amount of energy stored in a variety of nuts and discuss
control measures and differences.
- Expository Essay ... "Biotechnology,
is it ethical? What is your opinion?" Essay
should include a) an explanation of chosen technology, b) positive aspects, c) negative aspects, d) your opinion, e)
suggestions for the future of cloning. Resources should be
cited. Students had the option for CIM
scoring.
- Skull Lab - Students
compare and contrast a modern human skull to a gorilla's skull. From
that data, they predict how other hominid fossils relate in terms of
structure and intelligence. The tough part to this lab is determining
the procedures for measuring the skulls.
- Microevolution Lab -
Students use colored dots on a piece of material to conduct an experiment to
test for the change in gene frequency of a population.
- Antibiotics and Zones of
Inhibition... Students grow a nonpathogenic strain of E.Coli
(no, it won't make you sick) and design a controlled experiment to test the
effects of different antibiotic paper discs.
Biology
- Fortune
Fish ... What causes the fish to curl more? Used to
introduce scientific experiments.
- Glow Stick ... What
determines the brightness of the glow sticks? Used to teach report format.
- Apricot Lab ... What
effect does soaking in distilled water (or salt water) have on a dried
apricot? Students chose one or the other. 1st formal CIM report.
- Expository Essay ... "Cloning,
is it ethical? What is your opinion?" Essay
should include a) an explanation of cloning through nuclear transfer
techniques, b) positive aspects, c) negative aspects, d) your opinion, e)
suggestions for the future of cloning. Students had the option for CIM
scoring.
- Expository Essay ... Issue Decisions...each
student had an environment problem to discuss, evaluate from two opposing
views, then decide on a plan of action. CIM option.
- Compost Chamber...in
progress. An informal experiment on what makes the best compost.
Students had limited choices on what to add to their chambers.
- Antibiotics and Zones of
Inhibition... Students grow a nonpathogenic strain of E.Coli
(no, it won't make you sick) and design a controlled experiment to test the
effects of different antibiotic paper discs. 2nd formal CIM report
- Earthworm Behavior....How will earthworms respond to a change in their environment
(moisture or light intensity)? Students choose one or the other and
design a controlled experiment to test their hypotheses. 3rd formal
CIM report
- Cricket Lab...Students are responsible for designing an experiment around a
problem they have identified concerning crickets. Designs must be
teacher approved prior to experimentation. 4th formal CIM report
- Wisconsin Fast Plants...How
do you grow the best plant? Students will be growing these
genetically altered (mustard family) plants under the variable of their
choice. We will be observing and recording
growth (height, # and size of leaves, # flowers, # seeds, etc.) for four
weeks. Students will use graphical analysis to help analyze their
results. 5th formal report
Physical Science
- Center of Gravity
- Big Bang Balloons
- Effects of Exercise on Respiration Rate
- Pendulum Changes
- Lemon Battery
How to Write an
Experimental Report
When you write up an experiment, make sure you follow this format
(including roman numerals and headings.) A word processed report makes a
better presentation, but is not mandatory unless indicated by the teacher. Reports must be neat!
Title...standard or creative
I. Problem- The question that is the
center point for your experiment.
II. Hypothesis- Your educated guess that tests
one variable. Write it in an if...then...statement (or similar).
Make sure it is testable.
III. Background Information- In this paragraph,
write what you already know or have researched about this topic.
Definitions and observations are good to include. Explain how this
information helped you form your hypothesis. In other words, why did you
choose your hypothesis?
IV. Materials- A specific list of all items
needed to do the experiment exactly as designed.
V. Procedures- A very detailed, exact recipe of
directions to follow. Write the procedures in complete sentences in
numbered steps or in paragraph form. (Hint: include everything
from your materials list.) Any one without any prior knowledge
should be able to read your lab and do exactly what you did without asking
questions.
VI. Data- Collect data that matches your
procedures! Every chart, table, graph, etc. needs a title, units,
headings, and enough data to draw conclusions. Whenever possible,
average and graph results.
VII. Analysis & Conclusion- Make sure you do
all parts!!!
- Briefly summarize the experiment. Provide pertinent data: highs/ lows, average, trends,
etc. Use some of the data numbers, but not all.
- Try to explain your results. Explain the science behind the results.
You may have to do some research to do this.
- Restate your hypothesis and state whether it was supported, contradicted,
or not supported...and why!
- Critique the experiment for limitations and sources of errors...there are
always some! How should you change the experiment to overcome these
problems in the future? My rule of thumb is to have at least three sources
of error/limitations.
- What would be a good follow-up experiment?
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