Science Skills

Research Question Format:

Does changing IV affect DV?

How does changing IV affect DV?
How does IV affect DV?
What is the effect IV on DV?
How does DV depend on IV
Choose one

HYPOTHESIS Format:

What did you think would happen? (This is your HYPOTHESIS—written in if, then, because format.)

If ____________ (put in how you will change the IV)

Then __________ (put in how you think the DV will change)
Because ________ (why you think that---scientific reasoning)

If the temperature of the water is increased, then effervescent tablets will dissolve faster because………..

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:

List IV, DV, CV

IV (What you’re testing/ changing):

Temp. of Water
DV (What changes/what you measure as a result of your IV):
Time to Dissolve (sec)
CV (what remains the same—at least 3CV):
Brand of tablet (Alka-Seltzer)
Amount of water (75 mL)
No Stirring
Type of Cup
Etc.

MATERIALS: (Be SPECIFIC!!!) Must include equipment required to measure all the variables
Include amounts, brands, sizes etc.
 One 500mL glass beaker
 4 Thermometers(Celcius)

SAFETY PRECAUTION: Think outside of the box. If there was a lawyer in the room during your experiment, what
precautions should you exercise to avoid a lawsuit? Hazard + harm + Precaution
 Goggles should be worn when using glassware or hot liquids.
 Wear gloves when handling hot liquids to avoid burns.
 If glassware breaks or a spill happens, notify teacher immediately. Do not touch broken glass.
PROCEDURE: (Numbered/Bulleted)
A list of EVERY step necessary to carry out the investigation. Someone should be able to carry out the
investigation from reading your procedure. write SHORT and EXACT steps on how to change the
IV, keep the CV the same, and how to measure the DV values

1. Place one Alka-Seltzer brand tablet in a plastic cup containing 75 ml of cold water.
2. Record the amount of time, in seconds, it takes the tablet to completely dissolve.
3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 three times.
4. Repeat steps 1 – 3 with room temperature water, then hot water.
5. Calculate the mean (average) dissolving at each temperature.

The Method should NOT be too long

include information on collecting sufficient relevant data (wide range of IV values, trials, etc.)
Manipulation of variables

 state the different values/levels of IV you would use (minimum of 5) *

 How you will measure DV and the number of times (at least 3) the measurement will be done for each IV
value/level *

 Specify each CV and give a reason why it must be controlled

* Constitute the collection of sufficient data

RESULTS(Include graphs and data tables. PROPERLY LABEL EACH!):

Title: Effect of IV on DV
Temperature of Time to dissolve (sec) Average time to
Water/0C Trial 1 Trail 2 Trial 3 4 5 dissolve (sec)
Ice 98 104 107 96 105 102
Room 43 35 46 46 30 40
Hot 24 27 19 19 27 23

GRAPH
 X-Axis: IV/Unit
 Y-axis: DV/Unit (Must be average values)
 Title: Effect of IV on DV or The dependence of DV on IV
 x and y axis must have even scale increments

 The graph should be as large as the paper will allow. In order to do this, the graph must be properly scaled
 The scale for each axis of the graph should always begin at zero
  You should use a line graph when your manipulated variable is continuous, that is, when there are other
measurements possible between the ones you tested.
 Use bar graph when making comparison of data
CONCLUSION(Written in this same order and in paragraph form):
The conclusion requires a thinking process that involves both the analysis of data and the discovery of relationships.
Below you will find an organization framework for guiding this though process.
 What is the purpose of the experiment?
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of water temperature on the dissolving time of Alka-
Seltzer tablets.

 What were the major findings? NOTE: Please notice that the researcher DID NOT just restate the data. He
found the general relationship between the temperature of the water and the dissolving time.
 How does your data from the experiment support your findings? Data was referenced during interpretation(support
with evidence!)
At higher temperatures, Alka-Seltzer tablets dissolved faster. In the ice, dissolve time averaged 102 seconds
and as the water heated up, the dissolve time decreased to 40 seconds at room temperature and 20 seconds in
hot water.
For each rise in temperature, dissolving time was reduced. …(you would continue your explanation here)

 Was the research hypothesis supported by the data? NOTE: A hypothesis is not proved or disproved by a
single experiment. The data either supports or fails to support the hypothesis.
The data supported the research hypothesis that Alka-Seltzer tablets would dissolve faster in warm water than
in cold water.

 What possible explanations can you offer for the findings/results? Why did they happen?
Because molecules move faster in warm water, they would strike the tablet more frequently and tear it apart
more quickly.

 What recommendations do you have for further study and for improving the experiment?
Additional experiments could be conducted to determine the dissolving rate of other brands of tablets. The
experiment could be improved by insulating the cups to reduce heat exchange with the room.

Improvements should relate to the method, for example increasing the range of independent variable or
adding more trial to obtain an average, adding an important control, improving how a control variable
was kept constant.

Extensions should change or provide an additional independent or dependent variable to the study.

Anomalous point/Outlier
An anomaly is something that does not fit the pattern
If anomalous results are included in a small sample size, they can make the result less reliable
f there are anomalous results, the best thing that you can do is to repeat the experiment. When that isn't
possible, discard them but ALWAYS state why you did that in the evaluation section  
Graphs are very useful for identifying anomalous results. The odd result will be more out of line with the
other points on the graph
Reliability and validity
Reliability and validity are concepts used to evaluate the quality of research. They indicate how well a
method, technique or test measures something. Reliability is about the consistency of a measure, and
validity is about the accuracy of a measure.
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/reliability-vs-validity/

Extensions should change or provide an additional independent or dependent variable to the study.