Tag: investigation
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Investigation: What Factors Affect Seed Germination?
This activity can be used as part of a unit on plants or as an activity to illustrate the scientific method. The materials are cheap and can be obtained from the grocery store. Students design an experiment to determine what factors affect seed germination. They are given a list of variables that are appropriate…
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Investigation: What Organisms Are Found in Ponds?
Does your community have ponds, streams, or lakes? Students enjoy working with real biology, and though it may not be possible to take students to a lake, you can bring the lake to the student. This open-ended activity gives students the opportunity to explore pond water and compare the types of species found in…
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Investigation: What Factors Affect Cricket Chirps?
One of my favorite scientific method activities was a project that used a flash simulation to investigate cricket chirps and how the frequency is affected by temperature, humidity and wind speed. Unfortunately, flash is no longer supported by modern browsers. This alternative assignment asks students to listen (and count) cricket chirps, create a data…
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Case Study: How Do Genes Determine Skin Color?
This case study focuses on a news story whose headline declares that a “mother is a the only black woman to give birth to two white babies.” Students look past the sensationalized headline to discover how skin color is controlled by multiple genes and make a final judgement about whether statements made in the…
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Investigation – Animal Behavior with Isopods
An isopod is a crustacean with a segmented body and seven pairs of legs. They are commonly known as pill bugs, roly-polys, or woodlice. Isopods are found in a variety of habitats, including soil, under rocks, and in decaying wood. They are detritivores, meaning they eat dead and decaying matter. Isopods are an important part…
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Investigation: What Factors Affect Lung Capacity
In this investigation, students use balloons and rulers to estimate the vital capacity of lungs using test subjects within the class. To perform the test, subjects take a deep breath and blow into a balloon. The diameter is measured and a graph is used to estimate the volume of air expelled based on the diameter…
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Investigation: Habitat Selection in Flour Beetles
This activity was modified from an Advanced Placement Investigation for use with freshman classes. The instructions are clear and require students to examine data and create a graph. Then students collect their own data using Choice Chambers and can choose which variables they would like to test: wet vs dry, water vs vinegar, light…
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Inquiry in Genetics Using Wisconsin Fast Plants
Genetic Experiments can be intimidating for teachers due to the time and cost of breeding plants or animals in a classroom. These issues are further complicated in a public school setting which may have space issues, limited funds, and lack of access to labs. My favorite model for genetic experiments is the Wisconsin Fast…
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Investigation: Bacteria
This investigation asks students to take samples from the school and grow bacteria on agar plates. Students learn to use sterile technique to transfer and stain the bacteria and view under a microscope. Lab guide includes instructions for how to analyze and compare colonies and identify the three shapes of bacteria: bacillus, cocci, and…