Unit

1: Scientific Investigation Daysheet 12: Scientific Method Assessment Name ___________________________ Bellringer: Directions: Read over the experiment below.

Biology I Date: ___________________

Mr. Krabbs wants to make Bikini Bottoms a nicer place to live. He has created a new sauce that he thinks will reduce the production of a body gas associated with eating crabby patties from the Krusty Krab. He recruits 100 customers with a history of gas problems. He has 50 of them (Group A) eat crabby patties with the new sauce. The other 50 (Group B) eat crabby patties with sauce that looks just like new sauce but is really just mixture of mayonnaise and food coloring. Both groups were told that they were getting the sauce that would reduce gas production. Two hours after eating the crabby patties, 30 customers in Group A reported having fewer gas problems and 8 customers in Group B reported having fewer gas problems. Determine if the experiment has the five important parts in the space below: The Important Part Is Independent Variable Dependent Variable Experimental Group(s) Control Group Constants In The Experiment This Is

1. A researcher is studying the effect of sleep on aggression, thinking that less sleep will lead to more

aggression. She has some people sleep 6 hours per night, some people sleep 3 hours per night and some people sleep as much as they want. She then monitors aggressive behavior during basketball games among participants. IV_______________________________________ DV:_______________________________ 2. A researcher is curious to find out what effect classical music has on peoples level of relaxation (as measured by heart rate). He suspects that listening to classical music will make people feel more calm and relaxed. He lets one group listen to classical music for one hour. He lets another group sit in a quiet room for one hour (i.e. they hear no music). After one hour, he monitors the heart rate of each participant to measure their level of relaxation. IV________________________________________ DV:_______________________________

3. A researcher conducts an experiment to assess the effects of alcohol on people's sense of balance. He divides his subjects into three groups: in one group the participants drink one ounce of alcohol, in another they drink two ounces of alcohol and in a third group the participants drink soda. He then watches as each participant tries to walk on a straight line from one corner of the room to the next and notes how many times they stumble outside the line. IV________________________________________ DV:_______________________________ 4. Justin Biebers fans are very intense. They get very in to his live performances. Sometimes they are so overcome with Bieber Fever that they faint during certain songs. He is wondering which song makes fans faint the most, Baby or Boyfriend. He thinks that the most faint when he sings Baby. He records the number of fallen fans for the two songs over the course of 10 shows. (Actually, his crew does this because he is a big deal). The crew determines that 100% of fans faint during Baby, while only 33% faint during Boyfriend.

IV: ______________________________________

DV: ___________________________________

Problem Statement: __________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Hypothesis: If _____________________________, then ____________________________________ Constant(s): ________________________________________________________________________ List at least ONE flaw you notice in this experimental setup: __________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 1: Scientific Method Assessment Activity 2: Post-Test Reading

5 Terrifying Parasites
1. Cymothoa

Exigua: Replaces the Fish's Tongue

Also called the "tongue-eating louse," this parasitic crustacean of the family Cymothoidae enters fish through the gills, then attaches itself at the base of the fish's tongue. Once there, it extracts blood through its front claws, causing the tongue to atrophy from lack of blood, then it replaces the fish's tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles at the tongue's stub. They are supposedly not harmful to humans unless picked up alive, in which case they can bite.

2. Loa

Loa: African Eye Worm

Commonly known as the "eye worm," this parasite enters the human body through the bite of a deer fly and explores the subcutaneous realm of its host, crawling undetected beneath the skin for years, until one day the host feels something strange in his eye. In a scene worthy of a horror flick, he looks in the mirror and discovers a tiny worm wiggling just beneath the surface of his eyeball. They are usually found in Africa and India, and symptoms can range from itching and joint pain to fatigue and even death.

3. Dracunculus

Medinensis: The Guinea Worm

Known commonly as the "Guinea worm," this is one of the oldest documented human parasites, with tales of its behavior reaching as far back as the 2nd century BC in accounts penned by Greek chroniclers. It affects humans, dogs, cats, horses, cattle, and other animals, especially in Africa and Asia.

The parasite enters a host after the ingestion of water contaminated with copepods (water fleas) infested with guinea worm larvae. About a year later, the worm creates a blister in the human host's skin, usually on the leg or foot. Within 72 hours, the blister ruptures, exposing one end of the emerging worm. This blister causes a very painful burning sensation as the worm emerges. Infected people often immerse the affected limb in water to relieve the burning sensation, thus allowing the adult female to release hundreds of thousands of guinea worm larvae, contaminating the water supply once again.
4. Ophiocordyceps

Unilateralis: Turns Ants into Zombies

Infected ants are popularly known as "zombie ants." Like something out of a horror film, this parasitoidal fungus infects ants and alters their behavior; the ant falls from the tree where it normally lives, climbs on the stem of a plant, clamps its mandibles on a leaf and dies there. Meanwhile, the fungus consumes the ant's tissue and grows outside it, releasing its spores.

5. Sacculina:

Castrates Crabs
This parasite partially castrates its hosts enough to control their sexual reproduction, or they end up killing it. If the host crab is a female, it gets tricked by the parasite into carrying, nurturing, and spreading larval Sacculina as if they were its own little crablings. Also, if the host crab is male, Sacculina transforms its body to function just like a female.

Homework 12: Scientific Method Reading Review Name: ____________________

Biology I Date: __________________

Purpose: To find out more about the steps of the scientific method! Task: As you read, answer the questions below Outcome: When you finish reading, you should be able to put the steps of the scientific method in order and define important scientific method vocabulary
What is science? Science is more than just a few chapters in a textbook. Science is a process. It is a constant search for information about our universe. Scientists are like crime scene investigators. They use a process to solve a mystery. The process scientists use to solve problems is called the scientific method. 1. What is the scientific method? ______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ The first step of this method is to make observations and state a problem or question. Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? Or how your skin heals when you cut it? If so, you have taken the first step of the scientific method. A scientist might ask, for example, which warms faster water or land? 2. What is the first step of the scientific method? ________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Second, the scientists will gather background information about their question or problem. After all the information is gathered, the scientist gives a possible solution to the problem. This educated guess is called a hypothesis. For example, she might say, "Water warms faster than land." 3. What is the second step of the scientific method? _____________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 4. What is a hypothesis? _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Next, the scientist will test the hypothesis by doing a controlled experiment. A controlled experiment has a few very parts. The first important part is the independent variable, which is what the scientists manipulates (changes) on purpose. In our example, the scientist would
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put water in one cup and soil in another cup. She would then put both cups under a heat lamp. 5. What is an independent variable? ___________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ The second important part of a controlled experiment is the dependent variable. This is the effect that the scientist measures. In our example, the scientists would place put a thermometer in each container. At certain times, the scientist would record the temperature in each cup. 6. What is the dependent variable? ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ In order for the experiment to be controlled, the scientists needs to make sure it is a fair test. The scientists will need to make sure there are some things that stay the same in both cups in her experiment. For example, both cups should be made of the same material to be fair. Things that stay the same throughout the experiment are called constants. 7. What are constants? ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 8. What other constants should the scientist use to make the experiment fair? _________________________________________________________________________ The next step in the scientific method is to analyze data. Usually the data is recorded in a table. Then it might be graphed. This helps the scientist to compare the measurements, and make conclusions. After a conclusion is formed, a theory may be developed. A theory is an explanation that is supported by lots of experiments and evidence. However, even theories can be changed if different findings are obtained by other experiments. This is the spirit of science: questions can always be asked and what we know is constantly changing! 7. What is a theory? ________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 8. Can theories ever change? _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________