Lab 2: Research and Developing Hypotheses Name_______________

Grade: ______/

Today in lab we will conduct experiments to learn more about how to conduct background research and write
hypotheses. You will not write a full report for this lab, but you see where various components of an experiment
go in a lab report.

Please select one of the experiments provided in lab and work through the questions below.

Remember:

• Qualitative Results: descriptions or drawings of your results/outcomes

• Quantitative Results: numerical measurements/data that reflects your results/outcomes

Step 1: Preparing for your experiment – making an observation

You will use the experiment as it is described on the handout as your observation and control. Once you
complete your initial observation think about what you would like to manipulate to see how it affects the
results. You will only manipulate ONE variable. You will only collect ONE type of data

DEMO
Materials

• 1 balloon (round ones will work, but the longer "airship" balloons work best)
• 1 long piece of kite string (about 5 meters long long)
• 1 plastic straw
• tape
• string (to measure balloon size)
• Meter stick or other measuring device
• 2 support structures

Procedure

1. Tie one end of the string support structures.

2. Put the other end of the string through the straw.
3. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room.
4. Blow up the balloon (but don't tie it.) Pinch the end of the balloon and tape the balloon to the
straw as shown above. Measure the balloon at its largest point, and record its size
5. Release the balloon and record your data

Recommended Data to Collect: Distance traveled by balloon, time to travel set distance
Step 2: Hypothesis Development
In a lab report your hypotheses will be worked into the end of the introduction. You will provide the null and
alternative biological and statistical hypotheses. For today’s lab, you will record these in the space below. Just
remember that these are actually a part of your introduction.

Your hypotheses will be reliant on your variables. These are not written as a separate part of a lab report, but
are important to understand.

• Name the Independent Variable (what you change):

• Name the Dependent Variable (what you measure – ideally this is a quantitative result):

• List at least 3 variables controlled in this experiment:

Biological Hypotheses – Remember this is an effort to predict what is expected to will happen (and sometimes
why)

1. State your biological null hypothesis

2. State your biological alternative hypothesis

Statistical Hypotheses – These will be the hypotheses that are tested via statistical analysis and will help you
decide if you should reject or fail to reject your null biological hypothesis. The statistical hypotheses will
follow a formula based on the dependent and independent variables

3. State your statistical null hypothesis

H0:

4. State your statistical alternative hypothesis

HA:
Step 4: Materials and Methods
In this section of a lab report you would describe the steps taken to complete the experiment step-by-step.
(Think back to last week’s lab). This week you will NOT write out the materials and methods, however, you must
briefly describe how you have modified the original materials and methods for your experiment.

You must change the Independent Variable 2 times (and test each one twice)
This will result in 6 total runs of your experiment
5. How did you change the original instructions to test your hypothesis? What did you change? Be specific

Original Instruction Modification #1 Modification #2

Example: Tea Temp: 20°C Tea Temp: 10°C Tea Temp: 30°C

Step 5: Data Collection and Analysis

In a lab report the Data and Analysis section will include data collected, any statistical analyses of the data, and a
broad statement about the data. In this lab you will only report your data and create a graph.

6. Enter your quantitative data on the table below.

DATA TABLE I

Independent
Variable Replication 1 Replication 2 Replication 3 Average
(3 versions)

7. Describe any qualitative data or observations you think may be important (errors, etc.) in the space
below.

8. Write an overall statement regarding your data. Please see the hand out on terminology provided.
 9. Graph the averages from the Data Table I

Remember:
Include the units of measure on each axis as well as scale
Y = Dependent Measurement
X = Independent Measurement

X
Step 6: Discussion
In this section of a lab report you will “fail to reject” or “reject” your statistical null hypothesis. You will also
discuss how this impacts if you “fail to reject” or “reject” your biological null hypothesis. (If you fail to reject the
statistical, you probably shouldn’t reject the biological)

You will also use specific pieces of data (averages, etc.) to support and explain your decision regarding the null
hypotheses.

Data that is collected should be related back to the introduction and what you learned when doing your
background research. Explain how your experiment fits into the information already known about this topic.

In the Discussion section you will also discuss errors made in your experiment that may have affected the data,
how the experiment can be improved, and future experiments that will help you learn more about the topic.

For this lab you will simply try to determine if you should accept or reject your null statistical hypothesis and
explain how you came to this decision.

10. Do your “reject” or “fail to reject” your null statistical hypothesis?

11. Explain how the data that you collected led you to this conclusion (you should refer to specific pieces of
data)