Designing an Experiment

Designing an Experiment

Experiment 1

Caroline decides to save money by switching to a generic brand of dog food for Schnookum and Schnozzer, her mastiffs. After several days of eating the new food, however, the dogs stop sleeping through the night. They whine and tug at Caroline's blankets until she gets up to play with them. Caroline wants to know if this behavior is caused by their new food. For one week, she gives generic food to Schnookum, and she gives the original brand to Schnozzer. Schnookum continues to wake her up at night, but Schnozzer sleeps all night.

Multiple Choice

What is Caroline's independent variable?

• type of food

• amount of sleep

• type of dog

Multiple Choice

What is her dependent variable?

• type of food

• amount of sleep

• type of dog

Open Ended

List two controls that Caroline uses.

Open Ended

What could be Caroline's conclusion from her experiment?

Open Ended

What could Caroline do to improve her experiment?

Experiment 2

Gabby loves long-distance running, but her feet develop terrible blisters. Some of her track teammates suggest that the blisters are caused by her cotton socks, which absorb moisture. Gabby borrows a pair of double-layer running socks made of a synthetic blend. For two weeks she wears the synthetic socks when running, and for the following two weeks she switches back to the cotton socks when running. During this month, Gabby counts the number of blisters she develops. She finds that she has only one blister while wearing synthetic socks, but five blisters while wearing the cotton socks.

Multiple Choice

What is Gabby's independent variable?

• number of blisters

• type of socks

• time

Multiple Choice

What is her dependent variable?

• number of blisters

• type of socks

• time

Open Ended

List two controls that Gabby uses for her experiment.

Open Ended

What could Gabby's conclusion be from this experiment?

Open Ended

What could Gabby do to improve her experiment?