Hello, My son picked this project for his science fair this year:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... er#summary
We are trying to figure out what the control would be in this experiment. Can you help us figure this out? Thanks so much!
Help with Frightened Grasshopper Project
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Mindylee143
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norman40
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Re: Help with Frightened Grasshopper Project
Hi Mindylee143,
The idea here is that the only thing that changes during the testing is the wattage of the light bulbs. But there are some factors that could change and should be controlled (held constant). One is the ambient light in the room when conducting the experiment. Ideally there should be no light other than the incandescent bulb used for the test. Another is that the same lamp should used for testing all of the light bulbs. And the same grasshopper toy should be used for all tests.
Some experiments need a control test in which the experimental conditions are not applied. Observations from the control test are used to determine if the experimental conditions produced any effects on the results. A control test is not needed for the “frightened grasshopper” experiment. This is because results for one of the light bulbs can be compared with the other bulbs to see the effects. The graph described at the end of the project procedure is a great way to make this comparison.
I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.
A. Norman
The idea here is that the only thing that changes during the testing is the wattage of the light bulbs. But there are some factors that could change and should be controlled (held constant). One is the ambient light in the room when conducting the experiment. Ideally there should be no light other than the incandescent bulb used for the test. Another is that the same lamp should used for testing all of the light bulbs. And the same grasshopper toy should be used for all tests.
Some experiments need a control test in which the experimental conditions are not applied. Observations from the control test are used to determine if the experimental conditions produced any effects on the results. A control test is not needed for the “frightened grasshopper” experiment. This is because results for one of the light bulbs can be compared with the other bulbs to see the effects. The graph described at the end of the project procedure is a great way to make this comparison.
I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.
A. Norman
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Mindylee143
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2018 8:06 am
- Occupation: Parent
Re: Help with Frightened Grasshopper Project
Thanks so much for your help!! 