Assignment: Scientific Inquiry

Assignment: Scientific Inquiry

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Scientific Inquiry
Deliverable Length: 2 pages

Scientific inquiry in biology starts by observing the living species around you. What separates science from the other methods of seeking truth is that it is testable (e.g., one can devise experiments to test the validity of an idea); it is falsifiable (e.g., an experiment can reveal if an idea is false); and it involves natural causality (e.g., the method involves and depends upon the natural laws of the universe which cause things to happen in a predictable and repeatable manner).

Observation: Scientific inquiry begins when something interesting gets your attention.

Question: Following an observation, a question arises in your mind. It may be something like “I wonder what?” or, “I wonder how? or, “I wonder why?”

Assignment Details

In this assignment, you will take a look at the scientific method. You will design a (fictional) scientific study to answer a specific question based upon an observation.

First, choose 1 of the following observations or questions:

Option A
Observation: During the winter, you spread salt daily on your driveway to melt the snow. In the springtime, when the lawn begins to grow, you notice that there is no grass growing for about 3 inches from the driveway. Furthermore, the grass seems to be growing more slowly up to about 1 foot from the driveway.
Question: Might grass growth be inhibited by salt?
Option B
Observation: You and your neighbor have small kitchen gardens where you both grow tomatoes. His blotchy green and red tomatoes taste much sweeter than your perfectly uniform red ones.
Question: Might tomato sweetness be affected by the green chloroplasts in the fruits?
Option C
Observation: You went to the bakery to get a loaf of bread, but all of the loaves seemed small. The baker said that he used the same recipe and tested to be sure the yeast in the dough was active, but the machine he used broke down during the kneading process. Because the bread rose, he decided that it had developed enough gluten, and he baked it off anyway.
Question: Does yeast need air to make bread rise?
After choosing 1 of the above options (observation and question), you will do some library or Internet research about the subject. Once you have become familiar with the topic, propose a testable hypothesis to answer the question, and follow the rest of scientific method to determine if your hypothesis is correct by designing a controlled experiment.

You will not actually do the experiment or collect results; rather, you will propose a workable controlled experiment and make up what would seem to be reasonable results. You will then discuss those imagined results and draw a conclusion (based upon your imagined results) about whether or not to accept your hypothesis.

Complete the steps of the scientific method for your choice of observation and question using the directions below. Use the following headings in your paper.

Introduction

The introduction is an investigation of what is currently known about the question being asked. Before one proposes a hypothesis or dashes off to the lab to do an experiment, a thorough search is made in the existing literature about the specific question and about topics related to the question. Once one is familiar with what is known about the question under consideration, one is in a position to propose a reasonable hypothesis to test the question.

Assignment: Scientific Inquiry

Hypothesis

This is an educated guess or a best guess about what might be the explanation for the question that is asked. A hypothesis should be a 1-sentence statement (not a question) that can be tested in an experiment. A hypothesis can be stated as a prediction using an if/then statement. The ability to test a hypothesis implies that it has a natural, repeatable cause.

Controlled Experimental Method

The hypothesis is tested in a controlled experiment. A controlled experiment compares a control (e.g., the normal, unmodified, or unrestricted, or uninhibited set-up based on the observation) to one or several experimental set-ups. The conditions in the experimental set-ups are identical to the control in every way (e.g., temperature, composition, shape, kind, etc.), except for the one experimental variable that is being tested. The results obtained from the experimental set-ups will be compared to each other and to those obtained from the control. If done correctly, any differences in the results may be attributed to the experimental variable under consideration.

When designing an experiment, it is important to use multiples (replicates) for each set-up to avoid drawing the wrong conclusion. If the experiment only has one control and only one experimental setup with just one test subject in each, there is always the chance that a single living organism (test subject) could get sick or even die for reasons not caused by the experimental variable. Because living organisms are genetically different, the results from just one test subject in a given setup may not be typical for the species as a whole. This could result in errors when interpreting the results. This kind of problem is avoided by using multiple controls and multiple experimental setups with multiple test subjects.

Be sure to provide sufficient details in your method section so that someone could reproduce your experiment.

The experimental method section should also state clearly how data (numbers) will be collected during the experiment, which will be used to compare results in each test setup.

Results

Because this is a suppositional experiment, you will make up results according to what you think might happen if you actually did the experiment.

Results should include detailed raw data (numbers) rather than just a summary of the results. For example, if data are collected daily for five weeks, results should include the actual data from each day, and not just a summary of what happened at the end of the five weeks. Recorded results should match the experimental method.

Conclusion

In this section, clearly state whether you reject or accept the hypothesis based on the (imagined) results. Discuss what this means in terms of the hypothesis, such as the need for additional experiments or the practical uses or implications of the results.

References

Provide references in APA format. This includes a reference list and in-text citations for references used in the introduction section.

Give your paper a title, and identify each section as specified above. Although the hypothesis will be a 1-sentence response, the other sections will need to be paragraphs to adequately explain your experiment.

Assignment: Scientific Inquiry

Assignment: Scientific Inquiry

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.