Download Inquiry Lab- Investigating Worms

Today’s Objective
To collect and analyze our handwashing
results, consider what they show and
draw a conclusion about what our data
means
Bacterial In Photos
Observations
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Did bacteria grow on your plate? Where?
All one kind or different types?
How much? How can bacteria be measured?
Is there a pattern to the growth? Which
handwashing techniques had more? Which
had different types?
Using scientific methods
• Scientists often quantify their data to aid in
analysis
• Graph paper can be used to count colonies or
estimate percentage of agar covered by
bacteria
Creating tables to organize data
Handwashing Technique
1
2
3
4
Observations
% of Bacteria in quadrant
Sharing Class Data
Handwashing
Technique
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Note: This year, we will use Google docs
and Excel to collect, analyze, and share
class data
Group 6
Let’s try it with our class data
• Do our class results make sense?
• Are the results what you expected/predicted?
• Are there any errors that may have affected
our results?
• What can we do next time to design a better
experiment?
Analyzing or graphing our data can
help us find a trend
Can you make a trend statement for this data?
Components of a good graph
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•
•
•
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Appropriate type of graph (bar, line, piechart)
Title
Labels on axes
Units on axes
Written trend statement/caption under graph
• Key?
Connecting Experimental Design,
Hypotheses, And Graphs!
• (IF) Independent Variable: condition or
situation you will set up
• (THEN) Dependent Variable:
– Must be quantitative
– the NUMBER that you will record
• (BECAUSE) Rationale: scientific concept or
research that is connected to your prediction
IF/THEN hypothesis should reflect
your research question
• Hypothesis predicts how
variables will change
• IF hot soapy water is
used, THEN less bacteria
will grow
Data collection should reflect your
question
• Independent Variable (xaxis) =
• Dependent Variable (yaxis) =