Saturday, 21 July 2012

Lab Report for Scientific Investigation practical (mealworm experiment)


1.   What do you want to find out? (Aim/Purpose/Research question)
The aim of the experiment is to find out whether mealworms would choose to live in dark or bright conditions.

2.   What is the tentative explanation of your research question? (Hypothesis)
The mealworms will mostly remain in the dark.

3.   In an investigation, there is only one variable to be changed. Which variable will you change in this investigation? (Independent Variable)
The independent variable is the presence of light.

4.     All the other variables must be kept constant. List a few important variables that will affect the results greatly. (Controlled Variables)
The controlled variables are the number of mealworms on each side (bright and dark) initially, the amount and type of food on both sides.



5.     What results will you measure? (Dependent Variable)
The dependent variable is the number of mealworms on each side at the end of the experiment.

6.     State the assumptions that you have made
The assumptions are the dark side has no exposure to light, the bright side has no dark patches, there is an equal amount of food on both sides and all 4 mealworms are similar. If there are more mealworms on a particular side, the mealworms prefer that particular side.


7.     List the materials and apparatus that you will need to carry out the investigation.
(Materials and Apparatus)
Materials and Apparatus:
C  4 mealworms
C  A plastic container
C  Some food for the mealworms
C  Strong light
C  Some cloth
C  A shelf with ample space to keep the container underneath

C  _______________________
C  _______________________
C  _______________________
C  _______________________
C  _______________________



8.     List the steps that you will take to carry out the investigation. (Procedure) Include drawing of setup.
Procedure:
Step 1: Place the food in the container evenly.
Step 2: Place half the box under strong light and place the cloth over the remaining half. To ensure that no light enters the dark portion, shift the dark half under the shelf.
Step 3: Place 2 mealworms onto each side of the container.
Step 4: Observe their movements in a daily interval basis over 3 days.



9.     Data collection and organization. (Results)
The data can be presented in the form of tables and/or graphs.
Results: After 3 days, 3 of the 4 mealworms were in the dark section of the box. They have moved towards the light but then avoided it later.




10.   Explain what your data means. (Data Analysis)
What did you observe and give reasons to your observations.
Data Analysis: This means that the mealworms prefer dark conditions as there are more mealworms on the dark side and if there are more mealworms on a particular side, then they prefer that living condition




11.   What can you deduce from the discussion of your data analysis? (Conclusion)
State if your data support your hypothesis? If not, what would you do? In other words, how can you further improve your design? What do you think have been carried out incorrectly and affected the data collected?
Conclusion: My hypothesis has been proven right and Mealworms prefer dark to bright conditions.


Drawing of a mealworm:

                                                                   

 Characteristics of the mealworm:

Number of segments: 12
Length of mealworm: 3.5cm
Colour: Brown
Other distinguishable characteristics: Head and end of body is darker in colour. It has 6 legs, 2 antennae and distinct divisions that show its segmented body.


~End of lab report~


















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