Experimental Design

The type of variable that you change or manipulate in an experiment.  It is what you are testing.

• Independent
• Dependent
• Control

The type of variable that responds to the experiment and is what you measure to determine if your hypothesis is true.

• Independent
• Dependent
• Control

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

If I water the plant more often, then it will grow taller.  Name the independent variable.

• The height of the plant
• The size of the pot
• The amount of water
• The amount of light.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

If I water the plant more often, then it will grow taller.  Name the dependent variable.

• The amount of water.
• The amount of soil.
• The height of the plant.
• The amount of water.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

Maya designed an experiment to answer the following question: How does the amount of water given to a lima

bean seed affect how tall it grows?

Multiple answer!!!! Which things does Maya need to keep the same in her experiment?

• the amount of water each plant gets

• the amount of soil

• the type of plant

• the amount of sunlight each plant gets

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

Maya designed an experiment to answer the following question: How does the amount of water given to a lima

bean seed affect how tall it grows?

In this experiment, what variable should Maya CHANGE?

• the amount of water

• the kind of plant

• the type of soil

• the amount of sunlight it gets

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

Anthony designed an experiment to answer the following question: How does the temperature of water affect the time it takes for a sugar cube to dissolve?

Which factor should Anthony CHANGE in his experiment with the sugar cubes?

• the amount of water he uses

• the size of the sugar cubes

• the temperature of the water

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Anthony designed an experiment to answer the following question: How does the temperature of water affect the time it takes for a sugar cube to dissolve?

Multiple answers!!! Which things should Anthony keep the same in his experiment?

• the amount of water

• the size of the sugar cubes

• the temperature of the water

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Melika made a model to help understand why craters on the moon are different sizes. She represented the moon’s surface with a pan of flour. Melika represented objects that hit the moon with marbles. She thinks that dropping marbles from a greater height will make the crater’s diameter larger.

What should she keep the same in her experiment?

• the weight of the marbles

• the kind of flour in the pan

• the height she drops the marbles from

• the size of the marbles

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

How many variables should you change in an experiment?

• none
• 1
• 2 or more
• depends on the type of experiment

Tags

CCSS.HSS.IC.B.3