NAME: Kristine Mae M.

Merhan SCORE: ____________ DATE: September 27, 2021

Course/Year/Section: BSN-1B Class Sched: Day: Tuesday/Thursday Time: 4:30-7:30 pm

Activity 2
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
WORKSHEET

A. Joaqui notices that his shower is covered with a strange green slime. His friend Chichay
tells him that coconut juice will get rid of the green slime. Joaqui decides to check this
out by spraying half of the shower with coconut juice. He sprays the other half of the
shower with water. After 3 days of "treatment" there is no change in the appearance of
the green slime on either side of the shower.

1. What is Joaqui’s hypothesis?

Spraying coconut juice will get rid of the strange green slime on the shower.

2. Identify the control group (CG), the independent variable (ID) and the dependent variable
(DV)?
CG: half of the shower sprayed with water
ID: application of coconut juice
DV: appearance of the green slime

3. What would Joaqui’s conclusion be?

Coconut juice is ineffective and does not get rid of the green slime.

B. Mr. Layer was told that “Gaugau” was the best itching powder on the market; it even claims to
cause 50% longer lasting itches. Interested in this product, he buys the “Gaugau” and compares it
to his usual itching powder. One test subject (A) is sprinkled with the usual itching powder, and
another test subject (B) was sprinkled with “Gaugau”. Subject A reported having itches for 30
minutes. Subject B reported to have itches for 45 minutes.

1. Identify the control group (CG), the independent variable (ID) and the dependent variable (DV)?

CG: subject (a) sprinkled with the usual itching powder

ID: brand of itching powder
DV: how long the itches last
 2. Explain whether the data supports the advertisements claims about its product.

Based on the findings and data gathered on Mr. Layer’s experiment it supports the
advertisement’s claim that the “Gaugau” can cause 50% longer lasting itches.

C. The Strange Case of BeriBeri

In 1887 a strange nerve disease attacked the people in the Dutch East Indies. The disease was BeriBeri.
Symptoms of the disease included weakness and loss of appetite. Victims often died of heart failure.
Scientists thought the disease might be caused by bacteria. They injected chickens with bacteria from the
blood of patients with BeriBeri. The injected chickens became sick. However, so did a group of chickens
that were not injected with bacteria from the blood of patients with BeriBeri. One of the scientists, Dr.
Eijkman, noticed something. Before the experiment, all the chickens had eaten whole-grain rice, but
during the experiment, the chickens were fed polished rice. Dr. Eijkman researched this interesting case.
he found that polished rice lacked thiamine, a vitamin necessary for good health.

1. State the Problem.

A strange nerve disease, called BeriBeri, affecting the people in the Dutch East Indies.

2. What was the hypothesis?

They (scientist) thought the disease was caused by bacteria.

3. How was the hypothesis tested?

The hypothesis was tested through injecting the chickens with bacteria from the blood of
patients infected with BeriBeri

4. Should the hypothesis be supported or rejected based on the experiment?

The hypothesis should be rejected based on the experiment because the same symptoms
also developed in the control group (group of chickens that were not injected with bacteria from
the blood of patients with BeriBeri).

5. If it will be rejected, what should be the new hypothesis?

The new hypothesis would be that thiamine deficiency, which is a vitamin

necessary for good health causes BeriBeri.

D. In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming was studying Staphylococcus bacteria growing in culture dishes.
He noticed that a mold called Penicillium was also growing in some of the dishes. A clear area
existed around the mold because all the bacteria that had grown in this area had died. In the
culture dishes without the mold, no clear areas were present. Fleming hypothesized that the mold
must be producing a chemical that killed the bacteria. He decided to isolate this substance and
test it to see if it would kill bacteria. Fleming transferred the mold to a nutrient broth solution.
This solution contained all the materials the mold needed to grow. After the mold grew, he
removed it from the nutrient broth. Fleming then added the nutrient broth in which the mold had
grown to a culture of bacteria. He observed that the bacteria died.
1. Identify the problem.

Bacteria surrounding the penicillin was disappearing. Fleming believed that a

chemical produced by the penicillin was causing the bacteria surrounding it to die.

2. What was Fleming's hypothesis?

His hypothesis was that the mold called Penicillium produced chemical that killed the
bacteria.

3. How was the hypothesis tested?

He transferred the penicillin to a solution necessary for its growth. Once grown,
he removed the penicillin and added it to a broth containing bacteria. In result, he
wanted to observe whether the bacteria died or survived.

4. Should the hypothesis be supported or rejected based on the experiment?

The hypothesis should be supported based on the experiment because the

bacteria died as a result of the addition of penicillin.

5. This experiment lead to the development of what major medical advancement?

This experiment led to the introduction of antibiotics that greatly reduced the
number of deaths from infection. Penicillin was the first effective antibiotic that could be
used to kill bacteria. This meant that cures for serious illnesses were possible even if the
patient had the disease.