Simpsons Scientific Method

Name _________________________________ Class Period ____________________ Date __________ SIMPSONS SCIENTIFIC METHOD Smithers believes that his workers at the factory could be more productive. He thinks that a special juice will increase the productivity of workers. He selects two groups of 50 workers each and assigns each group the same task (in this case, they’re supposed to staple a set of papers). Group A is given a special juice to drink while they work. Group B is not given the special juice. After an hour, Smithers counts how many stacks of paper each group has made. Group A made 6,587 stacks, Group B made 1,113 stacks. Identify the: 1. Hypothesis Smithers' hypothesis is that drinking the special juice will increase the productivity of workers _________________________________________ 2. Control Group Group B, which is not given the special juice, serves as the control group. They represent the standard or baseline condition against which the experimental group (Group A) is compared _________________________________________ 3. Experimental Group Group A, which is given the special juice to drink while they work, serves as the experimental group. They are the group subjected to the treatment or intervention being tested (drinking the special juice) _________________________________________ 4. Independent Variable The independent variable in this experiment is whether the workers drink the special juice or not. It is the variable that the researcher manipulates or controls to determine its effect on the dependent variable _________________________________________ 5. Dependent Variable The dependent variable in this experiment is the productivity of the workers, measured by the number of stacks of paper they produce. It is the variable that is being observed and measured to assess the effect of the independent variable _________________________________________ 6. What should Smithers conclusion be? Based on the results, Smithers should conclude that there is a statistically significant difference in productivity between the workers who drank the special juice (Group A) and those who did not (Group B). If Group A produced significantly more stacks of paper than Group B, Smithers could infer that the special juice had a positive effect on worker productivity. However, if there is no significant difference between the two groups, Smithers may need to reconsider his hypothesis or explore other factors that could influence worker productivity _________________________________________ Homer suddenly notices that the walls of his shower are covered in a strange green slime. His friend Barney tells him that coconut juice will get rid of the green slime. Homer decides to test this out by spraying half of the shower with coconut juice every day. He sprays the other half of the shower with water. After 3 days of "treatment" there is no change in the amount of green slime on either side of the shower. 7. What was Homer’s initial observation? Homer's initial observation was green slime covering the walls of his shower. _________________________________________ Identify the: 8. Hypothesis Homer's hypothesis is that spraying coconut juice on half of the shower will eliminate the green slime _________________________________________ 9. Control Group The control group is the half of the shower sprayed with water _________________________________________ 10. Independent Variable The independent variable is the substance sprayed on the shower walls, either coconut juice or water _________________________________________ 11. Dependent Variable The dependent variable is the amount of green slime on the shower walls _________________________________________ 12. What should Homer's conclusion be? Homer's conclusion should be that spraying coconut juice on the shower walls does not effectively remove the green slime, as there was no change in slime amount after three days. _________________________________________ Bart believes that mice exposed to microwaves will become extra strong (maybe he's been reading too much Radioactive Man). He decides to perform an experiment by placing 10 mice in the microwave for 10 seconds. He then compared the performance of these 10 mice to another 10 mice that had not been exposed to the microwaves. His test consisted of a heavy block of wood that blocked the mouse from food. He found that 8 out of 10 of the microwaved mice were able to push the block away to get to the food. 7 out of 10 of the non-microwaved mice did the same. Identify the: 13. Hypothesis Bart's hypothesis is that mice exposed to microwaves will become extra strong _________________________________________ 14. Control Group The control group consists of the 10 mice that had not been exposed to microwaves. _________________________________________ 15. Experimental Group The experimental group comprises the 10 mice that were exposed to microwaves. _________________________________________ 16. Independent Variable The independent variable is the exposure to microwaves _________________________________________ 17. Dependent Variable The dependent variable is the ability of the mice to push the block away to get to the food. _________________________________________ 18. What should Bart's conclusion be? Bart's conclusion should be inconclusive as there isn't sufficient evidence to support his hypothesis. _________________________________________ 19. What are the ethical considerations of this experiment? Ethical considerations include potential harm to the mice from microwave exposure, lack of scientific validity, and ethical review for experimentation involving animals. _________________________________________ Krusty the Clown was told that a certain itching powder was the newest best thing on the market; it even claims to cause 50% longer lasting itches. Interested in this product, he buys the itching powder and compares it to his usual product. One test subject (A) is sprinkled with the original itching powder, and another test subject (B) is sprinkled with the Experimental itching power. Subject A reported having itches for 30 minutes, Subject B reported to have itches for 45 minutes. Identify the: 20. Hypothesis The hypothesis is that the experimental itching powder will cause itches that last 50% longer than the original itching powder _________________________________________ 21. Control Group Subject A, sprinkled with the original itching powder, serves as the control group. _________________________________________ 22. Experimental Group Subject B, sprinkled with the experimental itching powder, represents the experimental group. _________________________________________ 23. Independent Variable The independent variable is the type of itching powder used (original vs. experimental). _________________________________________ 24. Dependent Variable The dependent variable is the duration of the itching experienced by the test subjects. _________________________________________ 25. Did the claims of the new product meet the experiment outcome? Did it meet expectations? The claims of the new product did not fully meet the experiment outcome. Although the experimental itching powder resulted in longer-lasting itches compared _________________________________________ to the original powder, it did not achieve the 50% longer duration as claimed.