Title: Laboratory 1
Course: BIO 160 RTZ > Section: Module 1 Chapters 1, 2 and 3 (Weeks Two and Three)

Laboratory 1: Jelly-side-down?

Background reading: Introduction: The Nature of Science and Biology

Copy and paste into your browser: http://www2.estrellamountain.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookintro.html

Introduction: It is a busy Monday morning. Your toast just popped out of the toaster. You butter it. You put grape jelly on it. Then it happens…as you are picking up the toast, it slides off the table and lands jelly side down on the floor! Why does toast always seem to land jelly side down? Or does it always land jelly side down? How could you find out?

Recall the steps scientists use to understand the natural world.
1. Step 1: Observe and generalize
2. Step 2: Formulate a hypothesis
3. Step 3: Make a testable prediction
4. Step 4: Experiment and observe
5. Step 5: Modify the hypothesis as necessary and repeat steps 3 and 4

Complete the following activity to see how scientists conduct experiments to find out information about the natural world, and to find out if your toast really does land jelly side down!  After you complete the activity, please type out answers (in complete sentences) to the following questions and submit them through the class shell. Be sure to include data tables and graphs when needed.

Questions:

Part 1 - Generating a hypothesis

1 .Based on your previous experience with toast, what general statement can you make about how toast is oriented when it lands on the floor?
2. What hypothesis can you make based on your previous observations of falling toast?
3. What is the specific prediction that emerges from the result of this hypothesis?

Part 2 - Performing an experiment

To test your hypothesis about falling toast, you will need the following items: 1 piece of bread (any kind; untoasted bread is ok too), small amount of jelly or jam (to place on one side of the toast; a small plastic tub of jam from a cafeteria would work just fine), a surface of a certain height from which to launch the toast (I suggest pushing the toast off a table or a countertop) and a sheet of plastic or newspaper to cover the surface upon which the toast lands. Design an experiment to determine the orientation of toast with jelly on it when it hits the floor. How will you launch the toast? (Remember that how you launch the toast and the height from which you launch it might affect your results.) How many times will you do this? (The more times you do this the more confident you can be in your conclusions.)

4. Briefly describe your experimental methods. (This should be about one paragraph long and written in the first person, past tense: for example, “I placed the bread on the counter…”. )
5. What were the results of your experiment?
6. Did your results support your hypothesis?

Part 3 - Assessing your experiment

7. If you were to do your experiment over again, what would you do differently? Why?
8. In this experiment, you probably did not use a “ control.” Can you think of an appropriate control for the experiment?
Please submit your answers to each of these questions as a numbered list. Answers should be in full sentences and the answer provided should address the question thoughtfully and completely. A data table should be provided for any data collection that occurred during the course of the experiment.