read and follow instructions on the doc attachment if any questions let me know
Science Literacy Assessment 2 - Justifying Hypotheses A hypothesis is an idea or explanation for something that is based on known facts, but has not yet been proven (definition from Cambridge dictionary). What does this really mean in science? Scientists come up with new ideas for research by being well read (background research) in the scientific literature – think about the scientific journals from last assessment. Being well versed in what is known vs. what is presumed we know and what we don’t know helps scientists see the gaps in knowledge that need to be filled, and make educated guesses/assumptions/explanations about what is unknown. Experiments are then designed to test these hypotheses. Then based on those finding the scientist can adjust the experiment or design further ones to better address the original hypothesis or address new questions raised by the experiment. Therefore, science is a never-ending cycle of questions that are tested, evaluated and a new question set for testing. Given enough proof from hypothesis testing, theories can be developed. For example, enough hypothesis driven testing has demonstrated evolution in many different systems and taxa, therefore it is called Evolutionary Theory. It is not called a theory because scientists are still unsure of its existence. I want to be clear on is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory in Science. In scientific reasoning, a hypothesis is an assumption made before any research has been completed for the sake of testing. A theory on the other hand is a principle set to explain phenomena already supported by data. Theories will pull together experimental results to provide full explanations such as "The Big Bang Theory." Outside of scientific reasoning, "theory" and "hypothesis" are often used interchangeably, and "theory' can unfortunately be interpreted to mean "less sound" or "lightly speculated."(source: Merriam-webster) Goal of assessment: In this assessment you will learn about the Scientific Method, and how it is used to construct, test, and report results of a hypothesis. In the end you should be able to do a little background reading and construct a testable hypothesis. The assessment: After learning about how to properly construct a hypothesis you will read some basic background literature provided and construct a testable hypothesis. You will then outline the basic experiment you would run to test this hypothesis, defining your variables and what is being tested. ----------------------- Scientific Method Tutorial: The Process of constructing and testing a hypothesis The scientific method – it is how scientists construct and test a hypothesis and follows these basic steps: 1. Ask a Question 2. Do Background Research 3. Construct a Hypothesis 4. Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment 5. Analyse Your Data and Draw a Conclusion 6. Communicate Your Results Constructing a Hypothesis One thing you’ll note is that the first step is to ask a question – the hypothesis itself is NOT A QUESTION. A hypothesis is a statement that is an educated, testable prediction about what will happen based on your background research. To make a good hypothesis you must: Make it clear. A good hypothesis is written in clear and simple language. Reading your hypothesis should a reader what you thought was going to happen when you started your research. Keep the variables in mind. A good hypothesis defines the variables in easy-to-measure terms, like who the subjects are, what changes during the experiment, and what the effect of the changes will be. Make sure your hypothesis is "testable." To prove or disprove your hypothesis, you need to be able to do an experiment and take measurements or make observations to see how two things (your variables) are related. You should also be able to repeat your experiment over and over again, if necessary. To create a "testable" hypothesis make sure you have done all of these things: · Thought about what experiments you will need to carry out to do the test. · Identified the variables in the project. · Included the independent and dependent variables in the hypothesis statement. (This helps ensure that your statement is specific enough. KEEP IT SIMPLE! Answering some scientific questions can involve more than one experiment, each with its own hypothesis. Make sure your hypothesis is a specific statement relating to a single experiment. ----------------------- Example of Good and Poor Hypothesis and Experiment outline: Example Background: Oxygen content in water changes with season, temperature, and how much the water moves (think pond vs stream). Good oxygenated water helps fish maintain a healthy immune system, which helps them resist parasites. Scale lice are a common parasite found on rainbow trout. Good hypothesis:When there is less oxygen in the water, rainbow trout suffer more lice. This is good because it is testable, simple, ad directly written. It establishes the participants (trout), variables (high vs. low oxygen in water, and number of lice), and the predicted effect (oxygen down, increase in number of lice). Poor Hypothesis: Oxygen levels in water impacts immune system of trout. This statement is not 'bite size.' Whether or not something ‘impacts breeding success' is too vague. There is no clear indication of what will be measured to evaluate the prediction. You the participants (trout) yes, but the variables are not clear (how will oxygenation tested, the indicator of immune system impact not even mentioned), nor are what the predicted effect will be (increase or decrease lice). Explain the Basic Experiment (answer these questions in your assessment!): Who are your participants? give some specific detail – species, sex, age, size. For example, adult trout of equal sex ratio. What are your variables? Define specifically what you manipulating to test you animals, and what outcomes you are measuring. For example, counting number of lice on trout at 7, 9, 11 mg oxygen per litre oxygenation levels. What is your predicted out come? Fish in mg oxygen per litre will have more lice. ----------------------- THE ASSESSMENT To be completed in a document and submitted to TurnItIn - you only get one upload. Please include you Name, Student ID number, and number your answers as they are asked below to avoid confusion with marking. You do not need to include a title page with your name and ID. Please use a legible font and text size. Normal spacing is fine. Please save file with at least sir name, your student number, and assessment #. 1) Read and choose ONE of these background statements (state which one as the answer to this question in your submitted document). (FYI – I’m making up this background based on know knowledge I have, do not take it as truth with out fact checking me!) Background 1: Even freshwater contains salt, giving it a level of salinity. In river ecosystems salinity increases as freshwater rivers flow towards and interact with oceans. Some species of fish live – such as salmon – part of their life across all of these gradients – growing up in the brackish mixing of fresh salt and freshwater, living their adult life in the open ocean, but return to the freshwater to breed. Some fish move further up river to spawn than others. Background 2: Sage grouse are a species of grassland birds, which breed via a lekking. This means that the males gather in an area and compete for space in a portion of ground where the males display in order to win matings with females. Larger males are typically found in the center of the competition grounds. Background 3: Staghorn beetles are named for the large mandibles (elongated mouth parts/jaw) found on most males. The females lack the enlarged mandibles, as males use them to compete for mating sites and access to food. The size of a male’s mandibles directly relates to their body size (not including the mandible). Background 4: Sea urchins are broadcast spawners, meaning that males and females release sperm and eggs at the same time into the surrounding ocean water. Therefore, sperm must be able to survive to swim to make contact and fertilize an egg. Sperm performance is best in a slightly basic pH seawater environment. Climate change is created by an increase in atmospheric CO2, in turn CO2 levels in the ocean are also increasing. This leads to ocean acidification, meaning that sea water that is normally slightly basic (pH>7) shift towards more neutral or acidic conditions (pH ≤7). 2) Now construct a good hypothesis based on your chosen background (one sentence max). 3) Explain your basic experiment using the following questions (max three sentences per part, can use bullet points): a) Who are your participants? b) What are your variables? c) What is your predicted out come? Last modified: Sunday, 25 August 2019, 3:51 PM