Researchable Question and Variables Exercise
Researchable Question and Variables Exercise
Coming up with an Idea
• The best investigations are ones that stem from your natural curiosity. What kinds of questions have you had about the natural world? For instance, have you ever wondered what conditions make a pot of water for spaghetti boil faster or ice cubes freeze faster? How about the amount of fertilizer or water that causes plants to grow best.
• The second step after you have an idea is to evaluate it for practicality. Is it do-able with the time, space, equipment and financial resources available. Can you still complete a solid investigation by being creative with improvised materials or borrowed equipment?
• The third step is to evaluate the idea for its difficulty. Like in figure skating, you receive a score for how hard the routine is and one score for how you execute the routine. An easy routine executed flawlessly is not as valuable as a difficult routine executed well.
High difficulty - What are the effects of water acidity on the seed germination and plant growth of Four o’clocks?
Low difficulty - Does water boil faster with or without a lid on the pot?
Identifying Variables
The following table describes the different variables in your investigation and provides multiple ways of thinking about them.
|Independent Variable |Dependent Variable |Controlled Variable |
|A condition that the researcher changes |An outcome that occurs because the independent |Conditions that the researcher intentionally |
|intentionally, independent of all other factors. |variable was changed. |keeps exactly the same so that the change in the |
| | |dependent variable can be attributed to the |
| | |manipulation of the independent variable. |
|What will you change? |What will you measure? |What will you keep the same? |
| |What will you look at? | |
| |What will you observe? | |
|What one condition will you manipulate? |What responds to the condition you manipulated? |What stays constant? (Constant Variables) |
|(Manipulated Variable) |(Responding Variable) | |
Helping children Design Investigation Questions and Identify Variables
Good science investigations start with research questions that are designed well. Here are some examples and then some practice questions for you to write. After you have written your questions, go back to the research questions. There are some examples where the variables have been identified for you. The underlined variable is the independent variable and the italics represent the dependent variable. In the examples that are not already marked, underline the independent variable, circle the dependent variable. Find the variables in all the questions including the ones you designed.
|Investigation Idea or Problem |Researchable Question |
|What makes ice cubes freeze fastest? |How does the temperature of the water affect the time it takes for ice |
| |cubes to freeze? |
| |Does the kind of liquid used change how long it takes for the liquid to |
| |freeze? |
| |What effect does the size of the ice cube tray have on the freezing of |
| |water after 2 hours? |
|How can I get my spider plant to grow better? |What happens to the height of 3 identical spider plants after 3 weeks |
| |when I give one no water, one 1/2 cup of water, and one 1 cup of water? |
| |How do three different kinds of fertilizer affect the height of three |
| |identical spider plants after two weeks? |
| |Does the kind of light my spider plant receives make the leaves greener? |
|How can I make my spaghetti water boil faster? |What effect does covering the pot have on boiling time? |
| |What happens to the boiling time when I change the material (glass, |
| |aluminum, cast iron) of the pot I boil the water in? |
| |Does a wide flat pot or a tall narrow pot boil water faster? |
|Sample Problems |Practice writing questions below |
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|Worms seem to not like light. Is this really true? | |
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|I wonder if plants grow better with fertillizer? | |
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|I wonder if my dad (200 lbs), my sister (100 lbs), or I (150 lbs), would | |
|go a further distance on the same run, with the same snowboard, and same | |
|snow with no turns? | |
|One of Your Ideas or Problems |Your Researchable Questions |
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|Another One of Your Ideas or Problems |Your Researchable Questions |
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Reference: Harlen, W. (1985). Helping children to plan investigations. In W. Harlen (Ed.), Primary science: Taking the plunge (pp. 58-74). London: Heinemann Educational Books.
Investigation Questions Fall 93
Does an object travel farther from a higher incline plane or a lower incline plane?
How does the amount of moisture effect mold growth on bread?
What effect do different materials (string, paper, etc.) have on separating oil from water?
Which type of water contains less particles--pond water, tap water, or rain water?
What effect does the position of the light source have on plant growth?
What effect does the brand of antacid have on the neutralization of acid?
Which stimulant entices the kitten to go through the maze the fastest?
Does the distribution of weight effect the speed of an object?
What condition effects how fast a solid dissolves?
What effect does light have on seed growth?
Which fertilizer will produce the healthiest plants?
What effect does salt water(salinity) have on object floatation?
What effect does water temperature have on yeast’s ability to produce carbon dioxide?
What effects do positive and negative charged objects have on one another when brought together?
What effect does the shape of a boat, made out of foil, have on the amount of weight it can hold?
Does colored water cause a color change in white carnations?
What effect does our movement have on the growth of crystals?
What effect do household supplies have on an oil spill?
What temperature do isopods prefer hot, room temperature or cold?
What effect does the color of light have on grass growth?
How will the change of temperature affect the growth of the crystals?
What effect do different substances have on the rate of evaporation?
Does smell affect taste?
What effect does temperature have on a crystal garden?
Which ordinary snack foods contain the most fat?
How does the type of exercise effect one’s heart rate?
Can water be purified without the use of chemicals?
Does color affect evaporation?
Does the position of a seed affect the growth of a plant?
Does a crushed ice cube melt more quickly or more slowly than a whole one?
How does red light affect bean seed growth?
What effect does specific environmental factors have one the Sunday comics?
Does adding a foreign substance to water affect the temperature at which it freezes?
What effect does the temperature of water have on the time it takes Alka-Seltzer to dissolve?
What effect does water temperature have on a fish’s respiration rate?
How does light effect plant growth?
What effect does condensed population verses non-condensed population have on the pollution level in the water?
What freezes faster--hot or cold water?
What effect does wind have on six candles in an open-top maze compared to a closed-top maze?
What effect will sunlight create when it passes through different substances?
What effect does the percentage of straws in clay have on how well clay floats in water?
What are the effects of water acidity on the seed germination and plant growth of four o’clocks?
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