Section #

Section Title

Contents

Example: M&M Testing

Title

short title for the experiment

Colorful M&M’s

I

InvestigativeQuestion

A question that asks what it is you’re investigating

·        stated as a question

·        testable and measurable

·        clear and easy to understand

Can students distinguish green M&M’s  from red ones by only taste and smell?

II

Hypothesis

a prediction that tells what you think will happen in your experiment

·        one sentence long

·        written in the form of          “If manipulated variable then responding  variable, because...”

If a subject is blindfolded and given both green and red M&M’s to eat, then the subject will not be able to tell the colors apart by smell and taste alone, because all of the dyes used to color M&Ms are made of identical chemicals..

III

Materials

a complete list of all supplies and equipment used in the experiment (each item listed on a separate line)

·        includes measurements, if appropriate

·        large bag of red and green M&M candies

·        blindfold

·        at least three subjects

IV

Procedure

a list of numbered steps in the experiment

·        tells exactly what will be done in the experiment so that another person could perform the same experiment exactly the same way

·        identifies the number of trials needed for reliable results

·        describes what data will be measured and recorded and how often

1.     Blindfold subject

2.     Select one M&M and record its color.

3.     Place the M&M in the subject’s hand and have the subject eat it.

4.     Ask the subject tell which color M&M it was, and record the answer.

5.     Repeat steps 1-4 for the same subject using five other M&M’s, in total using three candies of each color.

6.     Repeat steps 1-5 for the remaining subjects (at least 2 others).

Section #

Section Title

Contents

Example: M&M Testing

V

Results

4 parts:

·        List  the independent and dependent variables, any constants, and the control (if there is one).

·        Specific, detailed observations, using as many senses as possible

·        Measurable data in a table or list format

·        Data analysis in the form of a graph or table

Manipulated: M&M colors

Resp: naming the colors

Constants: blindfolds, way M&M’s were fed to subjects

Control: none

Subjects were each given 3 red and 3 green M&M’s in a mixed-up order.  The number of correct responses to their colors are recorded below.

Subject    Correct Green   Correct Red

Molly                  2                       1

Brian                   0                        3

Colly                   1                        1

Sam                     3                        1

Avg. Correct       1.5                     1.5

% Correct            50%                 50%

VI

Conclusion

 Error Discussion

An organized paragraph that states what you’ve learned from the experiment

·        restates the hypothesis in the first sentence

·        states as briefly as possible what the results showed

·        state whether the hypothesis was, or was not, supported (Note: do not use the word “proved” in your conclusions.  A few tests cannot “prove” anything. It takes scientists many years of experimenting to “prove” something.)

Offers an explanation of why your results were found, citing information from research, if any.

A section that gives a brief discussion of anything that went wrong or that might have made your results inaccurate or doubtful.

·        Does NOT include anything that you do not think actually might have affected your data

·        A disproven hypothesis is NOT an error

The hypothesis stated that subjects would be unable to tell red M&M’s apart from green ones when blindfolded and relying on only on their senses of taste and smell.  The data showed that subjects could correctly identify the M&M’s only about half the time, which is the same as a 50/50 chance by guessing.  Therefore, the data supports the hypothesis: subjects can’t tell red M&M’s from green ones when they can’t see them.  The reason for this result is most likely because the dye used for the coloring does not have any taste or smell, so M&M’s can’t be distinguished without the sense of sight.

Some subjects tried to peek around their blindfolds to see the color of the M&M’s.  This might have given them information to help them be more accurate.  However, the data still showed that they could not tell the M&M’s apart, therefore this probably did not affect the results or conclusion of this experiment.

VII

Future Investigations

After considering your results, describe a new experiment that could verify your findings or answer any new questions that came up while doing your experiment