Determine which of the following observations are testable. For those that are t

Question

Determine which of the following observations are testable.
For those that are testable:
• Write a hypothesis and null hypothesis
• What would be your experimental approach?
• What are the dependent and independent variables?
• What is your control?
• How will you collect your data?
• How will you present your data (charts, graphs, types)?
• How will you analyze your data?

A) Ice cream melts faster on a warm summer day than on a cold winter day.

B) The teller at the bank with brown hair and brown eyes and is taller than the other tellers.

C) I caught four fish at the seven o’clock in the morning but didn’t catch any at noon.

Explanation / Answer

Hypothesis is define as explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts Null hypothesis type of hypothesis used in statistics that proposes that no statistical significance exists in a set of given observations. The null hypothesis attempts to show that no variation exists between variables, or that a single variable is no different than zero. It is presumed to be true until statistical evidence nullifies it for an alternative hypothesis. The Experimental Approach The experimental approach is usually applied to what-if questions. To resolve these questions, the what-if scenario should be experimentally accessible, i.e. the “if” condition should be able to be experimentally controlled and monitored to observe the “what” effect. A simple example would be a question such as How will the oxygen concentration of seawater change (“what”) under intensified global warming (“if” = increased water temperature)? This question can be investigated in an experimental approach if seawater temperature (“if” condition) can be changed in a controlled manner and oxygen concentrations can be measured under the changed conditions (“what” effect). The experimental approach generally assumes the following format: 1. A specific question is formulated. 2. A hypothesis is developed as a preliminary, tentative answer to the question based on the information available at the time. If no information is available, the hypothesis is often little more than an educated guess. But don’t become enamored of your hypothesis; you must be ready to discard or modify your hypothesis as new information arises. 3. An experimental procedure is a devised to test, prove or disprove the hypothesis. As to the design of any experiment, any experiment is only as good as its control. 4. The process of running the experimental procedure (short: experiments) will provide experimental results, usually some time of data that may need further treatment to improve their usefulness. 5. From the experimental results, some conclusions may be drawn. The conclusions should either support or reject the hypothesis, providing at least a partial answer to the question that initiated the process. The conclusion derived from a single experiment. Independent and dependent variables Independent and dependent variables are related to one another. The Independent part is what you, the experimenter, changes or enacts in order to do your experiment. The dependent variable is what changes when the independent variable changes - the dependent variable depends on the outcome of the independent variable. For instance: if you were measuring the growth rate of plants under full sunlight for 8 hours a day versus plants that only have 4 hours of full sunlight per day, the amount of time per day of full sunlight would be the independent variable - the variable that you control. The growth rate of the plants would be a dependent variable. Control The control is a particular sample that is treated the same as all the rest of the samples except that it is not exposed to manipulated variables. For example, if you were testing the effects of antifreeze on the growth of bean plants, you would have 4 plants living under the same conditions. Light, food, soil, pot size... all the same. you would apply antifreeze to two of the plants only. The other two would be your control group. By comparison, they would show you how much less (or more) the antifreeze plants would grow. Collect Data As you observe your experiment, you will need to record the progress of your experiment. Data can be whatever you observe about your experiment that may or may not change during the time of the experimentation. Examples of data are values in pH, temperature, a measurement of growth, color, distance, etc. Journal All scientists keep a record of their observations in some form of a journal. The journal will begin with the date and time the experimentor collects the data. Sometimes data will include environmental values such as humidity, temperature, etc. Entries must be written clearly and with detail of description so that another scientist can read the journal, simulate the conditions of the experiment, and repeat the experiment exactly. Data The data are the values written down as the experiment progresses. Examples of data entry on measuring plant growth: 11/15/04 Control Plant 7.4 mm Test Plant 16.2 mm Test Plant 24.9 mm Test Plant 37.2 mm 11/22/04 Control Plant 7.8 mm Test Plant 15.9 mm Test Plant 23.2 mm Test Plant 37.2 mm Charts & Graphs When at all possible, illustrations of data are advisable. They create a professional appearance and convey a great deal of information. Examples include: Bar Graph, Pie Chart, X & Y axis Graph, Histogram, etc.

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