experimental report

Experimental Design Worksheet

1. Title: [example: The effect of (the independent variable) on (the dependent variable)]

2. Hypothesis: [If the (independent variable) is (increased, decreased, changed) then (dependent variable) will (increase, decrease, change).

3. Independent variable: the thing you deliberately change

a. Units of measurement (what are you measuring? What units will you use? How will you measure this?)

b. Distance between your planned measurements (Are you measuring every milimeter? Every second?)

c. Number of times you will run your trial (More is better! Trials can be run at the same time for most experiemnts)

4. Dependent variable

a. The thing that you plan to measure (Height? Weight? Time?)

b. How will you measure this? How will you try and get consistent measurements?

c. Units!

5. Constants

a. Things that stay the same

b. List them all

6. Control group

a. What are you doing to set aside the control group? (This is the group that you don’t experiment on. It’s there for comparison.)

Below is an example

1. The effect of temperature on the height of Dutch Baby pancakes.

2. Hypothesis: Properly baked goods need specific temperatures to rise correctly. My hypothesis is that increasing oven temperature will increase the height to which a Dutch Baby pancake rises while baking.

3. Independent variable: Oven temperature

a. Units of measurement: degrees Fahrenheit

b. I plan to adjust oven temperatures from 350 degrees F to 475 degrees F in 25 degree increments.

c. Since baking each pancake takes 25 minutes, I will only run 2 trials per temperature setting. This is a total of 12 data points.

4. Dependent variable: Height of pancake

a. I plan on measuring the height of the pancake using a metal 12” ruler.

b. I can measure to ¼ inch. Any smaller and I’m just guessing.

5. Constants

a. Ingredients

i. I will use a digital scale to measure ingredients

ii. I will use flour from a single container

iii. Milk and eggs will come from the same container

b. Initial oven temp

i. I will use a digital thermometer to make sure the oven temp starts correctly

ii. I will use the same oven for every trial

c. Measuring

i. I will measure the height using a metal ruler pushed through the pancake to the surface of the baking dish.

ii. Height will be the highest point of the pancake.

d. I will use the same baking pan for every trial

6. Control

a. The control for this experiment will be cooking 2 pancakes at the recommended temperature of 425 degrees F.

b. I will randomly select which days I will bake at which temperatures.