Unit

1: Scientific Investigation
Daysheet 14: The Floating Egg Problem Laboratory

Biology I

Name ___________________________
Date: ___________________
Bellringer:Read the passage and then answer the questions that follow. Be sure to use your reading strategies
(underline, highlight and/or circle).
Redis Meat & Maggot Experiment
Many years ago, scientists believed that some organisms arise from nonliving materials, a process referred to as
spontaneous generation. In 1668 Francesco Redi challenged the idea that decaying meat turns into flies. Redi
began with a different explanation for the appearance of flies on the meat: The flies come from eggs laid by
other flies on decaying flesh. To test this explanation, Redi filled two sets of four jars with chunks of meat.
He sealed one set of jars and left the other set open to the air.
There were a number of possible results that Redi might reasonably expect from his experiment. For example,
he might expect that flies would not appear in the sealed jars. During the experiment, Redi observed flies
entering and leaving the open jars. Several days later maggots (fly larvae) appeared on the meat in the open
jars, but none appeared on the meat in the sealed jars. Redi concluded that the maggots came from eggs laid by
flies on the meat not through spontaneous generation.
Redis work, along with the later work of Pasteur and others, eventually convinced scientists that organisms
arise only from other living things. Thus their work contributed to the theory of biogenesis, which states that all
living things arise from other living things.
Identify the following elements in the scientific investigation described above. Write a description of each
of these elements in the case discussed.
1. Hypothesis: _________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. Prediction: __________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. Control Experiment: ___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Theory: _____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Identify the control group in the experiment: _______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Identify the experiment group(s) in the experiment: __________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 1: The Problem of the Floating Egg Laboratory

Background Information:
Have you ever tried to float in a body of water? For instance, have you ever floated in the city pool, in
a lake/river, and/or an ocean? If you have, you might have noticed that it is easier to float in the
ocean/sea than in the city swimming pool. Heres an example:
The Dead Sea borders Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to
the west. Visitors can easily float on the waters of the Dead Sea due to its
concentration of minerals, which is the highest in the world.
The high
concentration of salt
in the Dead Sea
makes it a fun vacation destination. Its
impossible to sink in its waters. The high salt
concentration changes the density of the water.
Density is the measure of how much matter is in a certain volume. The more stuff in water, the
easier it is for things to float in it. Or, the more stuff in water, the denser the water is.
Purpose:
The purpose of this laboratory is to determine how much salt is needed to change the density of water
enough to float an egg.

Pre-Lab Questions:
1. State the problem: ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Formulate your hypothesis: If _________________________________________________,
then _______________________________________________________________________.
3. Identify the independent variable in our laboratory: ________________________________
4. Identify the dependent variable in our laboratory: __________________________________

Instructors Initials: ______________

Background Skills:
In this laboratory you will need to demonstrate your ability to use a metric ruler. Perform the following
measurements with your ruler, and then have you instructor initial at the bottom of this section.
Reading a metric ruler:
1. How many centimeters are represented in the picture below? __________________

2. How many centimeters are presented in the picture below? __________________

3. Using your metric ruler, measure the thickness of the laboratory counter. Be sure to use centimeters for
your answer. __________________________
4. Using your metric ruler, measure the width of one floor tile. Be sure to use centimeters for your answer.
________________________

Instructors Initials: ______________

Materials:

1 egg
1 500ml beaker
Tap water
1 bag of salt

~1 spoon
~1 popsicle stick
~1 metric ruler

Test Your Hypothesis:

1. Fill your beaker with 400 ml of water from the tap.
2. Carefully place your egg in the beaker. Note your observations in your data table.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to your beaker. Gently stir the solution with the popsicle stick until the
salt has dissolved. Note your observations in you data table.
4. Continue to add 1 tablespoon of salt to your beaker, gently stirring until the salt has dissolved.
Record your observations in your data table after each spoonful of salt is added.

Floating Egg Data Table

Amount of Salt (tablespoons)

Qualitative Data

Quantitative Data (cm)

0 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of salt
3 tablespoons of salt
4 tablespoons of salt
5 tablespoons of salt
6 tablespoons of salt
7 tablespoons of salt
8 tablespoons of salt
9 tablespoons of salt
10 tablespoons of salt
11 tablespoons of salt
12 tablespoons of salt
13 tablespoons of salt

Interpret Your Data: How many tablespoons of salt did it take to make the egg float? ____________
State Your Conclusion: Draw a picture of your experimental setup below and label all of the items.
Include the amount of salt that it took to make the egg float.

Instructors Initials: ______________

Graph Your Data:

13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Good Graphing Checklist

Does your graph have a title?
Have you placed the independent variable on the x-axis and the
dependent variable on the y-axis?
Have you labeled the axes correctly and specified the units of
measurement?
Is your data plotted correctly and clearly?
Instructors Initials: ______________

Data Analysis:
1. What was the control group in your experiment? How do you know?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What was/were the experimental group(s) in your experiment? How do you know?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. List 3 constants that were apart of this experiment:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. Look at the line graph you created. What was the trend in data?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. Was your hypothesis correct? How do you know?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
6. What is the relationship between the amount of salt added to the water and the eggs ability to
float?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
7. Would you rather be shipwrecked in the middle of a Great Lake (fresh water) or in the ocean?
Explain your answer to receive full credit.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Activity 2: More Experimental Design Practice

Directions: Read over the following experiment carefully. Analyze the data chart and answer the questions in
complete sentences.

To study the effects of common substances on the heart rate of a tiny aquatic organism known as
Daphnia, students placed a Daphnia in a drop of water on a glass slide. The students then added 1 or
more drops of a test substance dissolved in water to the slide, waited 10 seconds, then counted heart
beats for 10 seconds. The students used a clean slide and a new Daphnia each time. Their data table is
shown below.
Heart Rate of Daphnia in Different Solutions
Substance Tested

Heart Rate (beats per minute)

None (control)

58

Coffee

65

Ethanol

50

Analysis
1. Identify the dependent and independent variables in the experiment.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Identify the experimental group(s) in the experiment. _________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Propose a liquid that could be used for a control group. _______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluate how the instructions could be changed to improve the design of the experiment.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Homework 14: Scientific Method Practice

Name: ____________________

Biology I
Date: __________________

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

a. Who is running this experiment? ___________________________

b. Add your name to the experiment.

The Important Part Is

In The Experiment This Is

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

Experimental Group(s)

Control Group

Constants