Developing an Experiment to Test a Hypothesis

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Gen Ed Task 2: Developing an Experiment to Test a Hypothesis

Background:

Assume that the basal metabolic rate for a 250 g rat is 40 calories per day. Experiments were designed to test the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis:

If a rat consumes 90% of its basal metabolic rate, independent of the ratios of fats, carbohydrates and proteins the diet is composed of, then the rat will lose weight.

Experimental Design:

To test this hypothesis two individuals designed the following experiments.

The first individual used two rats. One rat was feed a diet of 36 calories per day with the sources of the calories being 25% fats, 35% proteins and 40% carbohydrates. The second rat was feed a diet of 36 calories per day with the sources of the calories being 40% fats, 40% protein and 20% carbohydrates. The rats were housed in a large cages in which they were free to move about. At the end of a month the rats were weighed and their weights were compared.

The second individual used a total of 20 rats. The thirty rats were weighed and they were put into two groups such that the average body weight of the two groups were as close to being equal as possible. 10 rats were feed a diet of 30 calories per day with the sources of calories being 20-25% fats, 30-40% proteins and 35-50% carbohydrates. The other group of 10 rats were feed a diet of 35 calories per day with the sources of calories being 5-10% fats, 35-45% proteins and 35-60% carbohydrates. The rats were housed in cages which allowed a minimum of activity and the activity was monitored using a motion sensor. The temperature of the room they were housed in was maintained at 22°C. At the end of each week the rats were weighed and the average weight of each group was computed. The experiment continued for six weeks. The data was then plotted as average weight versus weeks on the diet.

Steps to Complete Gen Ed Task 2

1. Evaluate the pros and cons of each experiment. Identify the control group and the experimental group. State what the independent variable is and what the dependent variable is. What are some controlled variables?

2. Next design your own experiment to test the hypothesis as stated above. You are free to use ideas from the two experiments you have analyzed. Identify the control group and the experimental group. Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable. Identified the variables you have controlled.

3. Next think about what type of results from the experiment you design would support the hypothesis. List these results and explain how they support the hypothesis.

4. Next think about what type of results from the experiment you design which would refute the hypothesis. List these results and explain how they would refute the hypothesis.

5. Write your answers in the following format as an MS Word document.

Part 1: Write a paragraph describing the pros and cons of each experiment. List the independent variable for each experiment. List the dependent variable for each experiment. List the control variables for each experiment.

Part 2: Describe the experiment you would propose to test the hypothesis. List and describe the control group and the experimental group. List the dependent variable and the independent variable. List all the controlled variables you will have in the experiment.

Part 3: List the specific results you would expect from the experiment if the hypothesis was supported by the experiment. State specifically what the measurements would be that would support the hypothesis. Explain how these specific results would support the hypothesis.

Part 4: List the specific results you would expect from the experiment if the hypothesis was refuted by the experiment. State specifically what the measurements would be that would refute the hypothesis. Explain how these specific results would refute the hypothesis.

6. Include the following in your MS Word document: your name, course number, term, instructor name.

7. Submit the MS Word document containing your answers to the submission folder for this assignment.