Analyze your data. Provide at least 4 pieces of evidence from your analysis that either support or refute your hypothesis.

Stephanie Burdett

Biology Department

Brigham Young University

Provo, Utah

Portfolio Question #4

The Logic of Hypothesis Testing

Important information about completing this assignment:

1. Please thoughtfully and carefully respond to each question and exercise. It is not important whether or not you are able to come up with the “right” answer. As you can see from the grading guide your work will be assessed based on your ability to think and work as a scientist!

2. Make sure you format your paper so that you’ve included titles for each part of the activity and that you submit your document properly

The Activity:

A. Title: Observations

· Record at least 4 observations:

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B. Title: Question Development

· Write down at least 2 questions generated from your observations. Make sure the questions you pose are suitable for firsthand scientific investigation:

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C. Title: Constructing A Hypothesis

· Select one investigable question from the list you made in question B and use it to construct a hypothesis. Make sure you write a highly formalized hypothesis – If….then statement that focuses on a single independent variable and clearly shows its relationship to the dependent variable. Don’t forget to include a prediction:

D. Title: Experimental Design

· Design an experiment to test your hypothesis. Use bullet points to briefly describe your experimental protocol. You should carefully think about materials, methods, how you will control for extraneous variable, and the data you will collect:

E. Title: Data From The Experiment

· Think about the types of data (qualitative and quantitative) that you want to collect to provide evidence for the hypothesis. Collect suitable data and display it appropriately (graphically, textually, etc.)

· List strengths and weaknesses of this experiment (i.e. what variables weren’t appropriately controlled, etc.)

F. Title: Data Analysis – Conclusion

· Analyze your data. Provide at least 4 pieces of evidence from your analysis that either support or refute your hypothesis.

· Use bullet points to succinctly outline the main points of your conclusion:

G. Title: Recap

· Record at least 2 uncertainties you have (Use bullet points to give any reasons why you are not completely confident in your results/conclusion):

H. Title: Reflection

Review your notes from previous discussions and readings in the textbook to help you prepare your answers.

1. Record at One of the major tenets behind science is that any scientific hypothesis and the experimental design based on that hypothesis must be falsifiable. Briefly, provide an explanation for why falsifiability is the foundation of scientific experimentation and why this principle leads to scientific advancements in knowledge. Limit your answer to no more than 1 page, double-spaced, 12 point font.

2. Using the given vocabulary words where appropriate, summarize the process of turning an investigable question into a hypothesis. Limit your answer to no more than 1 page, double-spaced, 12 point font.

· Scientifically testable

· Prediction

· Falsifiable

· Independent Variable

· Dependent variable(s)

· Controlled variables/conflicting variables