EnvironMentors

Experimental Design
Workshop
 The Scientific Method
1. Identify a Problem/Ask a Question
2. Background Research
3. Form a Hypothesis
4. Design an Experiment
5. Data Collection and Analysis
6. Draw a Conclusion
7. Communicate your Results
 Identify a Problem/
Ask a Question
• Your Research Question is the most
important part of the Scientific Method
• Choose a problem that interests YOU

• In EnvironMentors, you used the Mind

Mapping technique to identify the
environmental issue most important to you
 Background Research
• Learn more about your
problem
• Review previous work in
your area and talk to experts

• In EnvironMentors, you did Background

Research when you did your Literature
Review and your Expert Interview
 Form a Hypothesis
• Based on your Background Research,
make an educated guess to answer your
Research Question
• Your hypothesis should be testable
• You developed your hypothesis at the end
of your Background Research Paper.
 Design an Experiment
• What data will you need to collect to test
your hypothesis?
• What variable will you change?
• Identify a study site or sites, choose dates
and times for your experiment, and create
a list of necessary materials.
• Describe your experimental method.
 Step-By-Step Process
• Identify your Independent, Dependant, and Control
Variables.
• Develop a procedure and Methodology for measuring
your changes/results.
• Set up at least 3 trials (times you perform you
experiment) for accurate results.
• Every time you run your experiment or check your
results, make sure that you Control Group is remaining
constant.
• Be sure to follow your measuring steps every time you
check your results.
• Before you begin your experiment, write out a
DETAILED, step-by-step list of all the procedures for your
experiment.
 Materials
• At a simplified level, you can think of your Experimental
Method as being like a recipe in a cookbook. Your
procedure is like the instructions for how to bake a cake.
The instructions will include things like the order to mix
the ingredients, and the temperature to set the oven.
Your Materials List is like the list of ingredients. A recipe
that lists only flour, sugar and eggs would be nearly
useless; you would need to know how much flour and
sugar and how many eggs in order to bake a good cake.

• Make sure you include everything you will need for your
experiment in your materials list, including notebook and
pen for recording.
What Materials do you think he
needs for this experiment?
 Variables
An experiment generally has three types: independent, dependent and
controlled. When choosing your variables, keep in mind that good
variables are usually those that you can measure with a number
(e.g., concentrations of pollutants, time of day, temperature) or
observe objectively (e.g., colors). Subjective qualities, like whether
noise pollution makes local birds happy or sad, are not appropriate
variables.
• The independent variable is the one that you, as the scientist,
change or manipulate. Your experiment should have only one
independent variable. For your EnvironMentors project, possible
independent variables could be time (e.g., testing the amount of
pesticides in the water at the same site on different days) or location
(e.g., measuring noise pollution at different locations at the same
time of day). Time and location are just two examples of
independent variables. You and your mentor should work together
to determine the best independent variable for your project.
 Variables

• The dependent variable changes in a consistent manner

in response to changes you make in the independent
variable. In the examples above which used time and
location as the independent variables, the dependent
variables would be the amount of pesticides in the water,
and the amount of noise pollution, respectively.
Whereas there should only be one independent variable,
the number of dependent variables can vary. For
instance, if you were investigating water quality at the
same site on different days, your independent variable
would be time, and each different pesticide concentration
you measure in the water would be a different dependent
variable.
 Variables
• The controlled variables are those that you try to keep constant
throughout your experiment. These are all variables that might
affect your dependent variable. If you were measuring the
concentrations of pesticides in water on different days, you would
want to make sure that things like the weather and outside
temperature remain relatively constant. You should keep track of
your controlled variables as carefully as your other variables.
Remember that it is important to try to keep your controlled
variables as constant as possible. For instance, if you measured
the noise pollution at two different traffic intersections in your city
(independent variable = location; dependent variable = noise
pollution) but made your measurements at different times of day,
you wouldn’t be able to tell if changes in the amount of noise
pollution were due to the different location or the different time of
day. Most experiments will have more than one controlled variable.
 Data Collection and Analysis
• For EnvironMentors, you’ll need to collect
at least 3 sets of data
• When you are collecting your data you
must be Accurate, Consistent, and
Persistent.
• Analyze your data:
– Find the mean, median, mode
– Use graphs to communicate your results
 Mean, Median, Mode
24, 13, 45, 24, 67, 78, 85

Mean (or average):

(13+24+24+45+67+78+85)/7 = 48
Median (the value in the middle):
45
Mode (the value that occurs the most):
24
 Bar Graph
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Mean
Soil type
Time (seconds)
• Bar charts are used to
Sand 40 41 45 42
show relationships Clay 55 60 57 57.3
between groups. The Potting Soil 21 23 27 23.7
values being compared Control 8 5 4 5.7
do not need to affect
each other. This type of Comparing Water Percolation Through Different Soil Types
graph is an easy way to
70
show large differences.
60
• Example 1: Using a bar
chart to show the 50

Percolation Time (sec.)

differences in rates of 40

water percolation through 30

different types of soil. 20

10

0
Sand Clay Soil Control
Soil Type
 Line Graphs
• Line graphs are used to show River
January 1 February 1
Flowrate (cubic feet per second)
March 1

how changes in one variable Klamath River 375,000 327,000 320,000

affect changes in another Eel River 647,000 542,000 498,000

variable. It is very common to Trinity River

Mad River
166,000
62,000
161,000
57,000
131,000
38,000
create a line graph by plotting
your independent variable on Comparing River Flowrates
the x-axis (bottom) and your 7.0E+05
dependent variable on the y- 6.0E+05

axis (left). Line graphs can 5.0E+05

also be used to show how data

Flowrate (cu. ft/sec)

4.0E+05

change over time. 3.0E+05

• Example 2: Using a line chart 2.0E+05

to show the changes in river 1.0E+05

flowrate over time.

0.0E+00
1-Jan 1-Feb 1-Mar

Klamath Eel Trinity Mad

 Pie Chart
• Pie charts are used to Type of Bird
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Mean
Number of birds
show how a value for a Pelican 10 12 15 12.3/66.8= 18%

part of something relates Sanderling

Great Egret
20
15
18
16
17
15
18.3/66.8= 27%
15.3/66.8= 23%
to the whole. This type of Snowy Egret 9 8 11 9.3/66.8= 14%

graph is an easy way to Other 12 10 13 11.6/66.8= 17%

show percentages.
• Example 3: Using a pie 12.3, 18%
11.6, 17%
chart to show the different Pelican

bird species observed on

Sanderling

9.3, 14% Great Egret

the Outer Banks of North 18.3, 28% Snowy Egret

Carolina. 15.3, 23%

Other
 Draw a Conclusion
• What does your data mean?
• Does it disprove your hypothesis or
support it?
• What other experiments can you do to
learn more?
• What would you do different next time?
 Communicate your Results
• Write your Final Report, and present your
results at the EnvironMentors Fair.