Scientific Methods: Steps and Applications

Scientific Methods: Steps and Applications

Directions: Read each case study. Then, respond to the questions that follow.

​EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

A study was created to test the effects of jazz on people’s sleep patterns. The experiment hypothesized that if people listened to jazz music as they fell asleep, they would sleep for longer periods. For the experiment, 2 groups of people were created. One group was placed in a quiet room where they went to sleep, and they were timed on how long they slept. The other group was placed in a room where jazz music played softly as they began to sleep and played throughout the night. As each group awoke, their sleep times were monitored.

Case Study #1

Multiple Choice

Which is the dependent variable?

• sleep pattern

• people with jazz music

• people without jazz music

• sleeping time

Multiple Choice

Which is the independent variable?

• how long people slept

• room ambiance

• the number of people that participated from the study

• the bedsheets used in the study

A study was created to test the effects of fear in children. The hypothesis of the experimenters was that if babies were exposed to fuzzy bunnies and at the same time a loud cymbal was struck close behind them, then that child would be afraid of all fuzzy things. Another group of children would be exposed to bunnies without any loud noises. The study was carried out as planned and as a result, hundreds of young children developed fear of all cute furry bunny rabbits.

​Case Study #2

Dropdown

The experimental group is ​

Select answer

and the control group is ​

Select answer

.

Multiple Select

Which variables should remain constant during the test? (Choose all that apply)

• furry thing

• fear to bunnies

• type of noise

• number of babies tested

• time exposed to the noise and bunny

Multiple Choice

Which are the independent and dependent variables of this study?

• dependent: noise/silence

  independent: baby's response

• dependent: baby's response

  independent: noise/silence

• dependent: bedroom

  independent: fear to bunnies

Match

Match the following

• control group

• experimental group

• constant

• independent variable

• dependent variable

Stays under normal condition, a comparison

Group treated or tested

The cause, what I change or test

Variable that does not change

Variable being measured/ observed

The effect/ I observe/ I measure

• Stays under normal condition, a comparison

• Group treated or tested

• The cause, what I change or test

• Variable that does not change

• Variable being measured/ observed

• The effect/ I observe/ I measure

Shortly after Ms. Fernández rescued a calico cat that was named Ponyo, she realized she wasn’t eating enough.  Ms. Fernández went to the pet store and bought many kinds of food and fed Ponyo different types every day. Each day she noted the type of food and how much Ponyo ate out of her dish. Eventually, Ponyo ate a lot of the Happy-Cat brand food and Ms. Fernández bought that for her from then on. 

​Case Study #3

Open Ended

Discuss what is the difference between control and experimental groups.