Introduction

The purpose of this assignment is to design an experiment that another student could follow and use to test whether land or water heats faster.

You will complete the following:

Part One: Experimental Design. Plan out an experiment by answering the guiding questions below.
Part Two: Design a Lab Report. Write the outline of a lab report so that another student could complete the experiment by using the materials listed below:
sand
water
heat lamps
thermometers
cups

Part One: Experimental Design

In this section, you will think about what type of experiment to set up. Remember, you are NOT completing the experiment, only designing it. If you want to review the scientific method first, use this tutorial. Use these guiding questions to help you design the experiment. Answer each question below:

What hypothesis will the experiment test?
What are the variables?
What purpose would the sand serve?
What purpose would the water serve?
What purpose would the heat lamps serve?
What purpose would the thermometers use?
How can you use these materials to test whether land or water heats faster?
How would you compare whether land or water heats faster?
Within a 24-hour period, at what three points should the temperature be taken? Why?
What would an effective conclusion need to include?

Part Two: Design a Lab Report

Once you have designed the experiment, you must write out the instructions so another student could act as the experimenter and follow them. Fill in the following elements of this lab report as described in italics below.

Lab Report

Objective

Explain the purpose of your lab.

Procedure

List the experiment procedures. Some steps have been filled in for you. You may need to adjust the numbers to match the steps you decide on.

Identify the variables.
Write out your hypothesis in an if/then format.
Gather your materials.
Analyze the data.
Write your conclusion.

Data Analysis

Label a data table so that the experimenter can record observations for the sand and water temperatures at various points.

Conclusion

Explain what the experimenter should include in this section to show how the data proved the hypothesis.