Introduction to Laboratory Skills
What is Science? Simply, Science is just one of many ways of understanding the world around us. The two main processes that we will explore are: 1) observation and 2) experimentation.
Observation
Be sure you are describing what you see and not what you think you see (interpretation). The danger with interpretation is that you may convince yourself of an answer that is based on fallacy. A strength of a good science student is that you can describe what you see using words that relate to tangible things like size, shape, colour, direction, and orientation.
Experimentation
Experiments are performed to determine if a prediction is, more or less, right or wrong. In order to perform a fair experiment (one that is repeatable without huge differences), you must decide on one variable and determine your control. Variables are things that you can change within your experiment and test how those changes affect your results. A control is a test where the variable isn't changed.
Reaction Rate Lab
Determine which factors can affect reaction rate and design a testable experiment using PEOE.
Situation: If we change __________________________, what will happen to reaction rate compared to our control?
Observation
Be sure you are describing what you see and not what you think you see (interpretation). The danger with interpretation is that you may convince yourself of an answer that is based on fallacy. A strength of a good science student is that you can describe what you see using words that relate to tangible things like size, shape, colour, direction, and orientation.
Experimentation
Experiments are performed to determine if a prediction is, more or less, right or wrong. In order to perform a fair experiment (one that is repeatable without huge differences), you must decide on one variable and determine your control. Variables are things that you can change within your experiment and test how those changes affect your results. A control is a test where the variable isn't changed.
Reaction Rate Lab
Determine which factors can affect reaction rate and design a testable experiment using PEOE.
Situation: If we change __________________________, what will happen to reaction rate compared to our control?