Scientific Variables Lesson

What is a controlled test of a hypothesis?

• Experiment

• Observation

• Variable

• Scientific Questions

What does an investigator change in different parts of an experiment?

• Hypothesis

• Independent variable

• Dependent variable

• All variables

You set up an experiment to see how sunlight affects plant growth. You give two similar plants the same amount of water every day, but you put one plant in sunlight and the other plant in shade. Which of the following should be a controlled variable in this experiment?

• Age of the investigators

• Amount of water given to each plant

• Amount of sunlight

• Plant growth

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

You set up an experiment to see how sunlight affects plant growth. You give two similar plants the same amount of water every day, but you put one plant in sunlight and the other plant in shade. Which of the following should be a dependent variable in this experiment?

• Plant location

• Amount of water given to each plant

• Kind of plant

• Plant growth

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

A researcher is studying the effects of eating habits on body exertion. Two groups of ten men were given the opportunity to sit down and eat at an all-you-can-eat buffet. All the men are 35 years old and weigh between 190 and 200 pounds. Before they eat, one group is told that they will run one mile 30 minutes after they eat. The other group is told to enjoy their meal and nothing else.

What was the control in the experiment?

• The age of the men

• The weight of the groups of men

• The group that is told nothing.

• The group that is told are going to run one mile

In an experiment, Joey and Elena are trying to determine whether Super Grow fertilizer works better than Mo' Grow fertilizer on pepper plants. They buy 10 pepper plants that are the same size and water them the same amount three times per week. They use Super Grow on half of the plants and Mo'Grow on the other half. All of the plants receive the same amount of sunlight. Joey and Elena measure the height of the plants at the beginning of the experiment and every 6 days for one month (30 days).

Which of the factors in the experiment are controlled variables?

• Joey and Elena

• The fertilizers

• The sun and water

• The height of the plants

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

In an experiment to determine the effects of radiation on the germination of seeds, a factor that has to be controlled is

• The amount of radiation

• The types of radiation

• The germination rate of seeds

• The amount of water added to the seeds.