END OF TRIMESTER PROJECT

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Introduction: Look around you! Have you ever thought, “Hmm…I wonder why that happens?” If you have asked yourself that question, you were thinking like a scientist!

This year the members of our class will be undertaking a long-term scientific experiment. Each student will come up with his or her own idea of something to research. The topic you choose must somehow be related to Environmental Science. This will be a semester long project in Environmental Science.

The project!

Step 1: Pick a research project. Is there something about plants, animals, ecology, or the environment that you really wonder about? Perhaps you have a question based on something you have observed. Can you form a testable hypothesis for this project? Is this something you think you can do on your own or with the help of me?

Step 2: Discuss your project with a teacher & your group. Once you come up with an idea, discuss it with your group me. We will help you determine how realistic the project is and assist you in getting started

Step 3: Do research. Start to read articles related/Google search thing related to your project. This will help you to form a hypothesis and decide what your plan of action should be.

Step 4: Form a hypothesis. What is it that you think will happen when you carry out your experiment? Remember, there is no right or wrong hypothesis. The hypothesis only needs to be a reasonable assumption based on observation and past research. Your experimentation will answer the question.

Step 5: Design your experiment. How exactly are you going to test your hypothesis? Remember here that you need to have a control group or groups that will ultimately support your final conclusions. If you are having difficulty deciding on a control group be sure to ask the graduate student or me for assistance.

Ø Also included in this step is designing a method for data collection. How will you document the data you need to collect to prove your hypothesis? Step 6: Run your experiment. Come to me if you need additional equipment besides items you can get on your own. I will help you as best as I can to get all the necessary materials to do the experiment. You need to do at LEAST 3 times through

Step 7: Analyze your data. How are you going to display the data that you collect? Will you use graphs, and if so what kind? Will you have charts or pictures?

Step 8: Discussion of results. This is where you discuss what happened in your experiment and come to a conclusion about your findings. Was your hypothesis proven to be correct, or did your findings fail to support your hypothesis? Why do you think this happened? What could be done to further this research?

Present your research findings to the class. I want a formal copy of your lab write up, that I will keep in a binder for future classes to use, and build from. All students will have to present their findings. You will have a maximum of 10-15 minutes to present. We will discuss this aspect of the project in greater detail, as we get closer to the end of experimentation.

Possible assignment ideas… Cloning plants Greenhouse experiments Comparing nitrogen levels in water Macroinvertebrate testing Comparing sex ratio of male vs. female (crayfish, box elder and milkweed bugs) Homemade incubator Water testing stream/pond Population sampling (plant diversity/insect diversity (rocks/wood) Climatography (rain gauge/ temp recording) Shadow readings Ethograms (animal behavior charts) Trash % (personal/nature center) Food preferences in animals Water taste test (tap/bottled/well)