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Example : Designing an Experiment

Where do scientific experiments come from?


 In some labs, you will be given a scientific problem to solve by


designing your own experiment. If that is the case, go on to PreLab
Question #1 (below). But if you have been asked to come up with your
own scientific problem, you need to do some thinking before beginning
to answer the PreLab questions:

A scientific problem is something you don’t understand but you can do


an experiment to help you understand. Scientific problems are usually
based on observation of scientific phenomena. Here is some advice to
help you identify a scientific problem you can address by designing your
own experiment.


 1) Find a topic:

A topic is a relatively specific area of knowledge, or subject, you will be


working in, such as smoking and lung cancer, sexual selection in birds,
gravity, Newton's Laws of Motion, properties of water, etc... If you have
been given a topic, you may need to narrow it, to identify a more
specific topic within the broader one. This can make it easier to work
with. If you are supposed to choose your own topic, do some
brainstorming about things you have learned about in your science
course that was particularly interesting for you, something you’d like to
know more about. Write down some possible topics and choose the one
that seems most interesting to you.


 2) Identify a problem within the topic:

The problem is something you’d like to know more about, a question


you’d like to answer. Questions can come from many different sources:
from lectures or textbooks, from an experiment you have done that
raised other questions, from articles you’ve read in scientific journals or
even newspapers and magazines. To identify a scientific problem, then,
you can find sources that relate to your topic and look to see what
problems are raised in your search. Write down the problems that you
find. Choose one that would be interesting to solve and that is feasible
for you to solve. Now you are ready to answer the following PreLab
questions:

Background for the experiment:
 Lori is on her school's


volleyball team. Because she and her teammates spend a lot of
time doing jumping exercises, she has become interested in the
standing vertical leap, which plays an important role not only in
volleyball but also in basketball. Lori knows that success in both
sports depends to a large extent on an athlete's ability to jump
higher than opposing players. She wants to design an experiment in
biomechanics that will help her determine what jumping strategies
athletes can use to jump their highest.

Hypothesis

1. What is the problem? 
 The standing vertical jump plays a


critical role in several sports, especially volleyball and basketball. In
volleyball, players must spike the ball and block spikes by the
opposing team by leaping from a standing position. In basketball,
players often shoot under the basket and rebound from a standing
position. In both sports, the effectiveness of the players can be
increased by being able to jump higher. The problem, though, is
that many players don’t know how to make the best use of
biomechanics to jump their highest. This is an experiment that I
hope will provide information that can help athletes, including
myself, jump higher. 
 
 What I know is that there are, generally
speaking, two approaches to vertical jumps from a standing
position. The first is called the squat jump. You begin the jump in a
modified crouch or squat with the knees bent and then spring from
that position. In the other approach to jumping, you begin the jump
with a downward movement of the body and arms that leads to an
upward spring. The unknown is which of these two approaches
allows the jumper to jump higher.
 
 My question is: Which of
these two approaches to the vertical standing jump, the squat jump
and the countermovement jump, provides the biomechanics that
result in a higher jump?

2. What do you know about the science of the problem that


could help you answer your research question? 
 I found a
website and an article that helps me to understand the standing
vertical jump. The scientific concept involved in understanding the
standing vertical jump is Newton’s third law of motion: for every
action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Basically, when a
person jumps, she is overcoming her body weight, the force of
gravity that holds her on the ground. The jumper applies force
against the surface she is jumping from and that force results in the
equal and opposite reaction of resisting gravity by elevating off the
jumping surface. 
 
 Thus, the height of a jump may be understood
in terms how much force is exerted against the jumping surface.
Height is a function of acceleration, velocity, and time: how much
time the jumper is in the air depends on the acceleration and speed
of the jump. The greater the force against the jumping surface, the
greater the acceleration and velocity of the jump and the longer the
jumper is in the air. The length of time in the air correlates to the
height of the jump—“hang time.” Thus, acceleration/velocity/time
are key to the height of the jump. What this scientific concept
suggests is that the biomechanics of a jumper that allow the jumper
to apply the greatest force against the jumping surface will lead to
the highest jump.

3. What is your hypothesis for the answer to your research


question?
 I hypothesize that the countermovement jumps will be
higher than jumps from the squat position. I further hypothesize
that the faster the downward countermovement of the jump the
higher the jump. The reasoning behind these hypotheses comes out
of Newton’s third law of motion. If for every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction, then it is reasonable to expect that the more
force that is exerted against the jumping surface the higher the
jump. And the downward movement preceding the actual jump
would apply more force against the jumping surface than simply
jumping, like a wound up spring, from a squat position. 
 
 It is
also logical that more rapid countermovements will put more force
on the jumping surface and thus will lead to higher jumps.
Generally speaking, then, the greater the force a jumper can apply
against the jumping surface, the greater the acceleration and
velocity of the resulting jump, the more time the jumper is in the
air, and, therefore, the higher the jump.

4. What variables can you use to test your


hypothesis?
 Because I have two hypotheses, I need two sets of
independent and dependent variables. For the first hypothesis (that
the countermovement jumps will be higher than squat jumps), my
independent variable will be the two different approaches to the
biomechanics of jumping, the countermovement jump and the
squat jump. These are independent variables because I will be able
to manipulate them in my experiment. My dependent variables,
what I will be measuring in the experiment, will be the heights of
jumps by the subjects in my experiment. 
 
 For my second
hypothesis (that the faster the countermovement the higher the
jump), my independent variable will be the different downward
speeds my subjects will use as they jump. The dependent variables
will be the different heights of these jumps by the subjects in this
experiment.

5. What experiment(s) could you use to test your


hypothesis? 
 Experiment #1. I will use 6 players from my
volleyball team. I will begin by training the players in the two
approaches to jumping biomechanics, giving them opportunities to
practice each approach. Then each player will make a series of five
paired jumps related to the independent variable. Three players will
do pairs consisting first of a squat jump and then a
countermovement jump. The three other players will have the
opposing pairing, first countermovement jump and then squat
jump. (This is to be sure that fatigue doesn’t affect the results.) The
players will make their jumps in a standard set up used for jumping
exercises: a suspended board with measurement lines marked on it
that players will touch at the height of their jump. I will record the
height of each of the jumps. 
 
 Materials needed: vertical jump
measurement set-up 
 
 Experiment #2. I will use the same 6
players. I will ask each one to make five countermovement jumps,
each jump in the series consisting of a downward thrust of a
different speed, which I will measure according to the time it takes.
I will train the players to jump to a number count from the moment
they begin the downward movement to the point their feet leave
the jumping surface. Half the players will start with a slow
downward movement, the first to a count of 5, second 4, and so on
to a quick count of 1. The other half will proceed from fast to slow.
In order to make more accurate measurements of the speed of the
countermovements, I will videotape the jumps and time each of
them (from the beginning of the downward movement to the point
the feet are off the surface) with a stopwatch while viewing the
video later. I will record the height of each of the 5 jumps in the
series. 
 
 Materials needed: vertical jump measurement set-up;
camcorder; stopwatch; VCR.

References
 Linthorne, Nick. "Standing Vertical


Jump."
 http://www.brunel.ac.uk/~spstnpl/BiomechanicsAthletics/V
irticalJumping.html (3 January 2004).

Linthorne, Nicholas P. "Analysis of standing vertical jumps using a


force platform."
 American Journal of Physics 69 (2001): 1198-
1204.
1. The Introduction:
• First you should give the aim of the investigation. It
should be clear and concise. If the teacher states the
aim you shouldn’t just copy that down, you need to
change into your own words.
• It is advisable to include some background to the theory
being investigated.
• When designing your own lab you need to write the
hypothesis and prediction of the investigation. The
hypothesis needs to be very clear, giving an exact
and complete description of what might happen (and
why). The prediction is written like: If …then…
• You can also give a general background to the study if
you feel like it’s relevant and necessary.
• Here you should present the different variables...
• The independent variable is the one that you alter
throughout your experiment. For an example, if you
investigate the effect of temperature on yeast
fermentation, then the different temperatures that you
use is the independent variable.
• The dependent variable is the variable that you
measure. Using the yeast example, the dependent
variable would be the amount of CO2 produced by
the yeast (this shows how well the fermentation is
going).
• The controlled variables are the ones that you try to
keep constant throughout your experiment so that
they don’t affect your experiment. If investigating the
effect of temperature in yeast fermentation, the
controlled variables would be the amount of yeast
and water, the time for fermentation, etc.
2.Materials and methods:
▪ First give a list of all the equipment used in the
experiment. Give the size of beakers/measuring
cylinders, etc. used, give the names of any chemicals
that are used in the experiment.
▪ You can use a diagram to show the experimental set
up if you find it necessary.
▪ Now you should describe the method. It should be
written in past tense (i.e. not written as a guide on how
to carry out the experiment again, but rather, how you
did it).
▪ In this part you should explain the different variables.
Write how the independent variable was varied. Using
the yeast example, the independent variable can be
varied by placing the fermentation tubes in hot water
baths of different temperatures.
▪ Write how changes of the dependent variable were
monitored. You should write how you got your results,
e.g. by reading from the scale on the fermentation
tube to see how much CO2 that has been produced.
▪ Write how the controlled variables were controlled.
Using the yeast example, write that you made sure
that the amount of yeast used in each fermentation
tube was the same (because you weighed the yeast
using a scale), that you used a stop-watch to make
sure that the time that the tubes were allowed to
ferment was the same for all tubes.
▪ Write how you made sure that the sufficient relevant
data was recorded. Describe the method for data
collection, i.e. if you had several trials, if you used
controls, methods of measurements, if your
calculations are correct, etc.

3. Results:

3a. Data collection -


• Record raw data in a "Lab Record Book". You should
write up this data in an organised way using a table
format where possible. The tables should have labels
in which you briefly describe the contents of the
tables and how you recorded the results. Titles, units
and the uncertainty should be given in the headings
of the tables.
• Underneath the table you can briefly describe the
results. You can describe the main trends and
account for any anomalous result. You don’t have to
discuss the significance of the results to the aim of
the investigation.
3b. Data Processing and presentation -

• The data should be processed (calculated) correctly and


presented in tables (as above) and graphs. If you
use graphs, they should have a caption in which you
describe the contents of the graph. The axes of the
graphs have to be labelled with units and the points
have to be plotted correctly. Make sure that you use
the correct type of graphs. If both variables are
continuous, use a point graph.

4. The Conclusion:
• In the conclusion you should discuss the results you
obtained in relation to your hypothesis.
• Write a conclusion based on an interpretation of the
gathered results.
• Compare your results with literature values if possible.
... & Evaluation:
• In the evaluation you should evaluate the method used.
Write about the main weakness of the method used
and the weakness in the method of manipulation of
data.
• Write about the source of error, but don’t include
personal mistakes.
• Suggest real improvements (that can be carried out in
the school lab) to the investigation.
• Discuss further investigations that are of interest
and can be carried out and new questions that could
be posed.

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