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Scientific Method Lab
Student Scaffold for Designing and Conducting Experiments
PRE-DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Object, process, or event being observed: ____________________
What do I notice? What am I wondering about?
What prior knowledge, including observations made, do I have about this?
Part A: Things I could change or vary about the object, process, or event:
(Place sticky notes of the same color in the squares below)
Part B: Things I could measure or observe about the object, process, or event: (Place sticky notes of a new color in the squares below)
IDENTIFYING VARIABLES
I will change: I will measure:
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Place sticky note from
Part A here
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Place sticky note from Part B here
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I will not change (conditions held constant so it is a fair test): Place remaining sticky notes from Part A here.
I will not measure: Place remaining sticky notes from Part B here.
FORMULATING A QUESTION (Refining the initial question)
 When I change: What will happen to:
Fill in the question that will guide your experiment:
When I change _____________________________________, what will
happen to _________________________________________?
DEVELOPING A PREDICTION OR HYPOTHESIS (Note: This can be stated as a hypothesis instead of a prediction if you have prior experiences, knowledge, or observations)
Based upon my question, I predict (or hypothesize):
THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN (Note: Others should be able to follow your design without needing to ask you any questions)
Materials I will need: _______________________________________
________________________________________________________
What I will change or vary (also called the independent variable)
What I will do (how I will carry out the change):
Number of trials I will conduct: _____
The data I will measure or observe (also called the dependent variable):
Data I will measure or observe
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How I will collect the data: __________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
How I will record and display the data (for example- table, graph, chart, picture) _______________________________________________________________
DATA COLLECTION
 When I changed: What measurements resulted?
What I measured or observed
(Dependent Variable)
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What I changed
(Independent Variable)
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Sample chart for recording measurements or observations (Note: This is intended simply as an example to help get you started. You may design your own chart or modify this one to fit your design.)
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What I changed: ______________
(specify units of measurement where appropriate)
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What I measured or observed: _________________
(specify units of measurement where appropriate)
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Trial 1
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Trial 2
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Trial 3
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GRAPHING RESULTS
What type of graph is best- line graph or bar graph? _________________
X axis (Note: Both axes will need to be labeled and the appropriate scale marked)
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What I changed
(specify units where appropriate)
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What I measured or observed
(specify units where appropriate)
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Title of Graph: ___________________________________
FINDING PATTERNS AND RELATIONSHIPS IN RESULTS
 When I changed: What happened to?:
What I measured or observed
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CONCLUSION
Summarize what you learned as a result of this experiment. (Include the question you investigated, your evidence- your findings, patterns, cause and effect relationships- that support or do not support your prediction or hypothesis. Include any new questions you might investigate to further support your conclusion.
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