#605 - Experimental Design Pre-Assessment - Jennifer Kaltenbach | Library

Part 1 - SpongeBob Experiments!

Story 1 - Krusty Krabs Breath Mints
Mr. Krabs created a secret ingredient for a breath mint that he thinks will “cure” the bad breath people get from eating crabby patties at the Krusty Krab.
He asked 100 customers with a history of bad breath to try this new breath mint.
He had fifty customers (Group A) eat a breath mint after they finished eating a crabby patty.
The other fifty (Group B) also received a breath mint after they finished the sandwich, however, it was just a regular breath mint and did not have the secret ingredient.
Both groups were told that they were getting the breath mint that would cure their bad breath.
Two hours after eating the crabby patties, thirty customers in Group A and ten customers in Group B reported having better breath than they normally had after eating crabby patties.

1

In the story above, the breath mints would be considered

1

The number of customers who reported fresher breath.

1

Making each customers wait 2 hours after eating Krabby Patty & mint is an example of a/an

Story 2 - Sponge Bob Clean Pants: 

Read the following
SpongeBob noticed that his favorite pants were not as clean as they used to be. His friend Sandy told him that he should try using Clean-O detergent, a new laundry soap she found at Sail-Mart. SpongeBob made sure to wash one pair of pants in plain water and another pair in water with the Clean-O detergent. After washing both pair of pants a total of three times, the pants washed in the Clean-O detergent did not appear to be any cleaner than the pants washed in plain water."My PaNtsaRE DIRty!"

1

What is the problem SpongeBob is trying to solve?

1

What is the independent variable in Sponge Bob Clean Pants?

1

What is the dependent variable in Sponge Bob Clean Pants?

1

How many trials are in the Cleanpants experiment?

                        ok, fun is over - no more SpongeBob.  
                          Let's look at some real questions....

Part II. For each experimental question, identify the independent variable (IV), dependent variable (DV), constants and the control.

For Each, Ask Yourself:
What am I changing on purpose so that I can answer my question? -- this is your Independent Variable.
What is being measured? What data (numbers) are being collected? --this is your Dependent Variable.
What is staying the same in all of the exeriments? -- these are your Constants.
What is your zero IV level? What is your normal group that does not recieve any testing.---This is your Control

1

Does the brand of allergy medication affect the number of times a person sneezes?

The person taking the medicine
No allergy medicine
The amount of allery medicine

1

Does the amount of soil a plant is placed in affect how tall it grows?

amount of water
Height of plant (in cm)
amount of sunlight

1

Which type of sunscreen prevents burns for the longest amount of time?

Brand of sunscreen
Time to burn (minutes)
Time of day

1

What paper towel brand absorbs the most water?

Amount of water absorbed (mL)
Size of paper towel
Brand of paper towel.

1

Sam wants to figure out which pan cooks eggs the fastest: bronze, copper or steel.

Minutes until egg is cooked
None (can't cook eggs without a pan)
Material pan is made out of.

1

Ashton wants to see which fast food restaurant has french fries that will take the longest to grow mold.

Fries from different restraurants
Time to grow mold (days)
None (can't test without french fries)

1

Which brand of dish soap makes the most amount of suds?

Amount of water
Time water and soap is stirred
Brand of dish soap.

1

What type of physical activity gives you the highest heart rate?

Sitting (no activity)
Outside temperature
Type of physical activity

1

What type of detergent gets out grass stains the best?

Same wash cycle
washed in water without detergent
Brand of detergent