Name_________________________ Block: ________

Scientific Method Gizmo

adapted from www.explorelearning.com

Warm-up (do BEFORE your lab)

1. List two important features of a valid experiment:

a) ________________________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________________________

2. Define the following:

a) Dependent variable: _________________________________________________

b) Independent variable: ________________________________________________

c) Control group: _____________________________________________________

d) Experimental group: _________________________________________________

Part 1 New Life Forms

Launch Effect of Environment on New Life Form gizmo

Animals tend to be found in environments that are well-suited to them. Some animals thrive in
arctic conditions. Others do best in warm jungles. The environment can affect the type of
animals that you find in different places. The environment can also affect some traits of the
animals living there. In this gizmo you will work with a new life form discovered on a very
remote island. These aliens range in size, and you have been assigned the task of trying to
determine what causes the alien thickness to change. You will explore the affect of sunlight,
water, and temperature on alien size.

Time Effect
You have 100 aliens to work with. To start, 74 are thin, 19 are medium, and 7 are thick. You will
experiment with how time affects alien thickness.

1. To start, you should see that the aliens are getting 12 hours per day of sunlight, 10 drops
of water per hour, and the temperature is 25 degrees Celsius. Click on the Bar tab to see
a model of how many of each alien are present. Click on the Graph tab and you can see any
changes as days on the x-axis increase. Press the PLAY control button on the lower right
hand corner( ). Allow roughly 90 days to pass and click on the PAUSE control button(
).

2. Describe in your own words what happens to the number of thin, medium, and thick aliens
after you pressed the Play button: ________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
 3. Does it seem that alien thickness changes over time when the environment is constant?
Explain. ____________________________________________________________

Sunlight Effects
In the previous section you allowed time to pass while observing the aliens. All other conditions
were held constant. You will now explore the effect of sunlight on aliens.

1. Press the RESET control button ( )and select the Graph tab. Press the PLAY button.
Adjust the SUNLIGHT slider and observe what happens when you decrease the amount
of sunlight. Click the PAUSE control button and describe what happened.
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. Press the RESET control button and select the Graph tab. Press the PLAY button. Adjust
the SUNLIGHT slider and observe what happens when you increase the amount of
sunlight. Click the PAUSE control button and describe what happened.
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. Did the amount of sunlight have an effect on the number of thin, medium or thick aliens?

Explain._____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Water Effects
In the previous section you observed the aliens while changing the daily amount of sunlight. All
other conditions were held constant. You will not explore the effect of water supply on the
aliens.

1. Press the RESET button and move the sunlight slider back to 12 hours. Select the Graph
tab. Press PLAY. Adjust the water slider and observe what happens when you decrease
the amount of water. Click the PAUSE button and describe what happened.
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. Press the RESET control button and select the Graph tab. Press the PLAY button. Adjust
the water slider and observe what happens when you increase the amount of water. Click
PAUSE and describe what happened.
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
 3. Did the amount of water have an effect on the number of thin, medium, or thick aliens?

Explain. ____________________________________________________________

Temperature Effects
In the previous section you observed the aliens while changing the water supply. All other
conditions were held constant. You will now explore the effect of temperature on the aliens.

1. Press the RESET button and move the sunlight slider back to 12 hours and the water
slider back to 10 drops of water. Select the Graph tab. Press PLAY. Adjust the
temperature slider to 5 degrees Celsius and observe what happens. If you start to see a
change, click PAUSE and answer the following:

A) Which thickness of alien increased at this temperature? ____________

B) Which thickness of alien decreased at this temperature? ____________

2. Press the RESET control button and select the Graph tab. Press PLAY. Adjust the

temperature slider to the left and then to the right and observe what happens. Click

PAUSE and describe what happened. ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. Did the amount of temperature have an effect on the number of thin, medium, or thick

aliens? Explain. ______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. Click RESET and adjust the temperature slider to answer the following questions:

a) Which thickness of alien population does the best in a colder temperature?

____________________________________

b) Which thickness of alien population does the best in a warmer temperature?

____________________________________

Alien analysis questions

1) Which thickness of alien population seemed to stay constant when you varied the
different environmental factors? _______________________________________

2) Why do you think it was important to just change one environmental factor at a time in

this simulation instead of two or three all at the same time? _____________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
 3) What was the dependent variable in our experiments? __________________________

4) What were the independent variables we tested in our experiments (LIST ALL OF
THEM)? _________________________________________________________

5) In this experiment you could control sunlight, water, and temperature. What other

environmental factors could cause a population to change over time? _____________

________________________________________________________________

6) Scroll down below the gizmo and read & answer each assessment question. Click on Check
your answers to submit your answers to me.

Part 2 Growing Plants

- Click on the “MY HOMEPAGE” button in the upper right hand corner

Launch Growing Plants gizmo

Activity A- Wet and dry

1. Form a hypothesis. Do you think seeds need water to start growing? Explain why or why not.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

2. In the Gizmo, set up the three pots like the following: (use the mouse select the seeds and
place them in the appropriate pots, click on the lights to turn them on and off, and adjust the
slider to change water level)

Pot A - Bean seed, two lights on, 0 mL water per day

Pot B - Bean seed, two lights on, 50 mL water per day
Pot C - Bean seed, two lights on, 100 mL water per day

3. Click PLAY and wait until the simulation is done. Observe the plants. Fill in the data table
below with the height and mass of each plant on day 50. (Remember the mass of a plant is the
amount of matter in the plant.) In the last column describe what each plant looks like.

POT Water/day Height Mass Appearance

(mL) (cm) (g)
A
B
C

4. Using your data, was your hypothesis supported or rejected? _______________

Explain. _____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
5. Click the RESET control button. Create your own experiment to find if more water is

ALWAYS better for plants. Explain your findings: _______________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Activity B- Light and Dark

1. A variable is something that can be changed in an experiment, such as the amount of

light. How do you think the amount of light affects how plants grow? _____________

__________________________________________________________________

2. Set up three pots with 50mL of water per day, plain soil and turnip seeds. Turn
on three lights over pot A, one light over pot B, and zero lights over pot C. Click PLAY and after
30 simulated days click PAUSE. Record your data below:

POT # of lights Height (cm) Mass (g) Appearance on day 30

on day 30 on day 30
A
B
C

3. Select the Data tab. Look at the graphs for Plant Height and Plant Mass. In your own

words, how did the amount of light affect the growth of plants?

__________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

4. Select the Experiment tab. Click PLAY and let the simulation continue to 50 days. Based

on what you observe, what do seeds need to grow into healthy plants? ______________

_____________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________
Activity C - Design an experiment

You will come up with your own question and experimental design to answer your questions.

1. Create a question: Fill in the blanks with the variable and the type of plant you would like
to study in this activity. (DO NOT repeat an experiment you have already done.)

How does ________________________________ affect a _____________ plant?

2. Form a hypothesis: What is your prediction for the question you are asking?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

3. Set up the pots to test the variable you are investigating. Describe how you set up each
pot in the data table below:

POT Type of seed Water/day # lights Type of soil

A
B
C

4. Click the PLAY button to start your experiment. When the simulation is done examine
your plant data on the Data tab and record your results below:

POT Height (cm) Mass (g) Appearance

A
B
C

5. Conclusion: What did you discover (did your data support your hypothesis)?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

6. Scroll down below the gizmo and read & answer each assessment question. Click on Check
your answers to submit your answers to me.