Introduction
OBSERVATIONS/ BACKGROUND
Scientific thinking all starts with curiosity about something we observe. Biologists are interested in observations about life.
What is your observation?
QUESTION
Curiosity about an observation makes us wonder. The method scientists use to attempt to find the truth all starts with a question about the observation that they find interesting.
What is the question that you would like to answer?
HYPOTHESIS
The key to starting a successful experiment is proposing a specific explanation called a hypothesis. A hypothesis must be testable. It also must be a very specific explanation that provides insight into the more general question you are interested in.
State your hypothesis here.
PREDICTION
A good hypothesis leads to specific predictions about what you expect to observe that you can prove right or wrong through an experiment. What specific predictions can you make that will provide a good test of your hypothesis?
State your predictions here.
Methods
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN TO TEST PREDICTION(S)
The design of an experiment is very important. Our design should consider all variables that may influence the test of our prediction, including ways to minimize experimental, experimenter, and test subjects’ biases that may influence our interpretation of the results. Scientists should be very concerned with any variables that may confound their results as they aim to make a very clean and clear test of their prediction.
Write your experimental design here.
Results
Scientists summarize data in table and graphical form and use statistics to determine if differences exist between groups in the experiment or to determine if trends such as correlations exist that would support or refute the predictions. Use only SUMMARY data/graphs. Raw data can be put in the Appendix at the end.
Provide your tables/ graphs and summary of the results here.
Discussion and Conclusion
Scientists summarize the interpretation of their data to present to other scientists in a fair and thorough way. Typically they discuss the following: How the data support or refute the predictions. How the interpretation of the experiments inform us about the validity of the hypothesis. What further predictions should be tested to support or refute the hypothesis. How the hypothesis may need to be modified to account for the results of the experiment.
Write your discussion and conclusion here.
Appendix: Raw Data and Photos
References:
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