PURPOSE: In this activity, you will practice graphing the results of an experiment. You will also learn what constitutes a valid experimental procedure.
PROBLEM: How many drops of water will fit onto the “Lincoln” side of a penny?
PREDICTION (Hypothesis): I predict that ____ drops of water will fit on the head side of a penny.
A constant is things in an experiment that are kept the same in all trials.
1. In this experiment, there were a limited number of constants. Name two of them.
An independent variable is changed on purpose by the experimenter.
2. What was the independent variable in this experiment?
3. Where is the independent variable located on a graph?
A dependent variable is a variable that responds to the independent variable.
4. What was the dependent variable in this experiment?
5. Where is the dependent variable located on a graph?
1. Two possible constants in this experiment could be the type of penny used and the amount of water dropped onto the penny each time.
2. The independent variable in this experiment is the number of drops of water.
3. The independent variable is typically located on the x-axis of a graph.
4. The dependent variable in this experiment is the number of drops of water that fit onto the penny.
5. The dependent variable is typically located on the y-axis of a graph.
1. In this experiment, two of the constants could be:
- The size of the penny used
- The type of surface the penny is placed on
2. The independent variable in this experiment is the number of drops of water added to the "Lincoln" side of the penny.
3. On a graph, the independent variable is typically located on the x-axis.
4. The dependent variable in this experiment is the number of drops of water that fit on the "Lincoln" side of the penny.
5. On a graph, the dependent variable is typically located on the y-axis.