MYP Science Criteria B and C

Research Question

How does ____(1)______ affect __(2)___________, while keeping the 3 the same?

1. Independent Variable
2. Dependent Variable
3. Control Variable

Hypothesis
If the ___(1)___________ then ______(2)_________… because___________ correct
scientific reasoning.

1. Independent Variable changes this way (increases/decreases).

2. Dependent Variable will change this way (increase/decrease).

Variables
Independent - I will change _____ by_______ the range of values are ____________
E.g. Independent Variable – I will change the length of wire by measuring and cutting
different lengths, the range of values are 10cm,20cm,30cm,40cm,50cm and 60cm.

Dependent - I will measure______ in _______ using ______

E.g. I will measure the current in amps using an ammeter

Controlled - I will control____ by_____

Give at least 3 control variables.
Control How it is kept constant Why it is kept constant
Number of bulbs By using only one bulb in If I changed the number of
the circuit each time bulbs in the circuit then
the resistance would be
changing, we can only
have one variable
changing.

Materials
Include quantity and sizes of materials.

2x 400ml beaker
1x 1m wire cut into lengths (10cm,20cm,30cm,40cm,50cm and 60cm)
1 x ammeter

Method
1. How to set up the material.
2. Set up the first independent variable.
3. How to run the experiment
4. How to take the measurement of the dependent variable
 MYP Science Criteria B and C

5. Repeating the measurement to get an average

6. How to change the independent variable to repeat the experiment again.
​7. What are the other values of the independent variable you are using when you
repeat the experiment.

E.g.
1. Set up the circuit so you have the cell, bulb, switch and resistance wire in a series
circuit as shown in diagram.
2. Insert the 10cm resistance wire in the available space.
3. Close the switch, read the current on the ammeter and note it down.
4.Remove the 10cm piece of wire and replace with 20cm wire and repeat for all values
of the independent variable (10,20,30,40,50 and 60cm).
5. Repeat the experiment 3 times for each length of wire.
6. Use the three values of current to calculate an average value for each length of wire.
 MYP Science Criteria B and C

This part is for CRITERIA C

Results

Table, Graph, Calculations (if any)

Independent Variable Dependent Dependent Dependent Dependent
Variable Variable Variable Variable
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Mean Value
Example
Length of Wire (cm) Current (A) Trial 1 Current (A) Trial 2 Current (A) Trial 3 Mean Current (A)
10 12.5 12.2 12.4 12.37
20
30
40
50
60

You can include a sample calculation here to show how you calculated the mean

Mean Current for 10cm wire: (12.5+12.2+12.4) / 3 = 12.37

Graph
Include a title for the graph which includes the IV and DV.
E.g. Graph to show how the current in a circuit changes with different lengths of wire.

Remember the scale must be consistent – if you go up by 1 on the x axis each block
then must continue to go up by 1 each time on the x axis. If you go up by 5 each time
on the y axis, each block will continue to go up by 5 on the y axis.
 MYP Science Criteria B and C

Conclusion
State what your results show. (The results and graph show that as the length of wire increased the
current decreased.)
Describe the shape of the graph (if you have one) (The graph shows a decreasing trend line. As the
length of wire increased the current decreased. The line of best fit is linear)
Use numbers to describe the trend/pattern. Give examples from the graph. As we can see at 10cm
the current was 12.35A however with a length of 50cm the current was 4.25A.
Mention Anomalies (We can see that the data point for 40cm does not fit on the line of best fit. This is
an anomaly. I believe this unusual result happened because the measurement of the length of wire
was inaccurate. There was a parallax error when reading the length from the ruler.)
Compare your results to your hypothesis. My data supports my hypothesis as we can see there is a
decrease in current when the length of wire increases.
My data does not support my hypothesis as I had predicted that as the length of wire increased the
current would also increase.
Explain your results with scientific knowledge. As the length of wire increased the current decreased.
This is because as the length of increases the resistance of the wire increases this is an increase in
the resistance of the flow of electrons in the circuit and so the current was decreased.

Evaluation
Did you carry out the experiment accurately, how you know? The experiment was carried out
accurately. All measurements were repeated three times and an average value calculated.
Did you make any errors and how? The value for the 40cm measurement was unexpected. I believe
this was due to inaccuracies in the measurement of the length of wire coming from a parallax error
while reading the length from the ruler.
Did you control the controlled variables well? The number of bulbs was controlled throughout the
experiment. The temperature of the wires was not monitored throughout the experiment therefor not
controlled.
Give at least 3 ways you could you improve the method so that your experiment was more accurate.
Explain why the changes would make the experiment better.
If I were to repeat this experiment again, I would ensure to have a thermometer to measure the
temperature of the wires throughout the experiment. If the temperature of the wires changes this
could have an impact on the resistance and so the current in the circuit. Controlling the temperature
would ensure accurate results.