Using only these supplies, which question can Finn investigate with an experiment?
Is the pet lizard more active when its tank is heated with one heating lamp or with two heating lamps? Is the pet lizard more active when it is fed insects or lettuce? Is the pet lizard more active when it is fed crickets or mealworms?
Finn has a pet lizard. Finn notices that on some days, the lizard is active and runs around the tank. On other days, the lizard hardly moves at all. Finn wonders what factors affect how active his lizard is. So, he decides to design an experiment. He has the following supplies available:
one pet lizard
live crickets
live mealworms
one heating lamp
Experiments can be designed to answer specific questions. When designing an experiment, you must identify the supplies that are necessary to answer your question. In order to do this, you need to figure out what will be tested and what will be measured during the experiment.
Imagine that you are wondering if plants grow to different heights when planted in different types of soil. How might you decide what supplies are necessary to conduct this experiment?
First, you need to identify the part of the experiment that will be tested, which is the independent variable. This is usually the part of the experiment that is different or changed. In this case, you would like to know how plants grow in different types of soil. So, you must have different types of soil available.
Next, you need to identify the part of the experiment that will be measured or observed, which is the dependent variable. In this experiment, you would like to know if some plants grow taller than others. So, you must be able to compare the plants' heights. To do this, you can observe which plants are taller by looking at them, or you can measure their exact heights with a meterstick.
So, if you have different types of soil and can observe or measure the heights of your plants, then you have the supplies you need to investigate your question with an experiment!