University of Guyana Bio 1200 Lab 8 (Quiz)

Date Given: 3rd and 4th April 2024 Date Due: 10th or 11th April 2024

Below is an in class practice session and a take-home lab quiz.

Title: Formulating and testing hypotheses

During this lab session, you are going to learn about hypotheses and how to formulate a testable
hypothesis. Before we do this, we must first learn about variables:

What is a variable?

This is a factor/condition that is being changed or kept constant or is being observed/measured to

record a change.

There are three main types of variables that we will examine today.

1) The independent variable is the variable that is varied or manipulated by the researcher.

2) The dependent variable is the variable that responds to the change and this response is
being measured.

What is the relationship between the independent and dependent variables?

An independent variable is the presumed cause, whereas the dependent variable is the presumed
effect. Therefore, if the independent variable is (increased, decreased, changed), then the dependent
variable will (increase, decrease, change.). Unless there is no relationship between these variables.

Example Hypothesis: If the amount of heat is decreased then the rate of germination will decrease.

In this example, the independent variable is the amount of heat, which will be decreased, and then
the dependent variable which is the rate of germination will decrease.

3) The control variable is a factor/condition that is kept remain constant so that it does affect the
dependent variable.

e.g. If we want to measure how much water flow increases (dependent variable) when we open a
faucet (independent variable), it is important to make sure that the water pressure (the controlled
variable) is held constant. That's because both the water pressure and the degree of opening of a
faucet have an impact on how much water flows. If we change both of them at the same time, we
can't be sure how much of the change in water flow is because of the faucet opening and how much
because of the water pressure.

Many simple experiments may have more than one controlled and independent variable but usually
only one dependent variable.
Hypothesis
Now that we have covered variables, please read the example below that describes how to write
hypotheses: -
Observation: A worker on a fish farm noticed that his trout seem to have more fish lice in hotter
months when the water levels are low.

The worker wants to find out why this is happening. Therefore, she first does some research on the
literature relating to factors affecting fish lice abundance. Her research leads her to believe that the
amount of oxygen in the water is the reason that fishes may have more or fewer lice because the
literature states fishes that are oxygen stressed tend to be more susceptible to disease and parasites.

Therefore, she proposes a general hypothesis.

“Water levels affect the number of lice suffered by rainbow trout.”

This is a good general hypothesis, but it gives no guidance on how to design
the research or experiment. The hypothesis must be refined to give a little direction.

“Rainbow trout suffer more lice when water levels are low.”
Now there is some directionality, but the hypothesis is not really testable, so the final stage is
to design an experiment around a testable hypothesis.

“Rainbow trout suffer from more lice in low water conditions because there is less oxygen in
the water.”
Independent Variable: Amount of oxygen in the water
Dependent Variable: Number of lice on the fish
Control Variable: Temperature

This is a simple testable hypothesis because she has measurable variables i.e.
by measuring the amount of oxygen in the water and eliminating other controlled variables, such as
temperature, she can see if there is a correlation between the number of lice on the fish.

In addition to this simple form, Hypotheses can also be written as Null and Alternate versions. The
null hypothesis is a statement that you want to test.

The null hypothesis is generally denoted as H0 and it states that there is no exact or actual or
statistically significant relationship between the variables.
The alternative hypothesis is generally denoted as H1. It makes a statement that suggests or
advises a potential result or an outcome that an investigator or the researcher may expect based on
available literature.

For example:

Null (H0): There is no relationship between the number of lice found on Rainbow trout and the oxygen
content of the water in which they are found.

Alternate (H1): The number of lice found on Rainbow trout increases as water oxygen content
decreases

Remember:
ACTIVITY TO BE CARRIED OUT IN LAB SESSION

In this lab session, we would like you to work in groups of four or five persons to design a simple
hypothesis and method for the following observation. This should be orally presented at the end of
the lab session.

Observation: A farmer observed when ladybugs are present on his tomato plants they have fewer
aphids.

You must do three things in this lab session:

1) Identify dependent, independent, and control variables. There can be more than 1 control
variable.
2) Write a null and alternate hypothesis
3) Suggest a simple method to test your hypothesis

Activity time is 15-20 mins after which you must select one person from the group to present your
variables, hypotheses, and method to your lab break-out room in a short 5 mins oral presentation.
Individual take-home activity (Format)

No Cover page is needed only your name, USI, and lab name and number. You must include
references (APA 7th Ed Formatting).
Submit via Moodle.

Name: USI: Lab 8 (Quiz)

Title: Hypothesis Writing

Observation:

First-year biology students at the University of Guyana noticed that during the rainy season, there are
more scarlet ibises found feeding in flooded areas on campus in comparison to the dry season.

Variables:
Identify dependent, independent, and control variables. There can be more than one controlled
variable, but you should only have ONE dependent and ONE independent variable. You must also
explain how literature has helped you to choose each of these variables (6 mks).

For example, if you have:

Independent Variable: Number of rainy days

Then your reason can be:

Studies by Maharaj (2014) and Priya (2016) show that there is a positive correlation between the
number of rainy days in a month and the spontaneous generation rates of the Scarlet Ibis.

Hypothesis:
Write a Null and Alternate hypothesis (4 mks).

Method:
Suggest a simple step-by-step method that can be used to test your hypothesis. The method must be
written in future tense (5 mks).

Reference List:
Should have a full list of all references you used when choosing your variables. All references are
written in APA 7th Ed style. Reference in text and List

Lab Total = 15 marks.

END of LAB