Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

What type of graph would be most effective for comparing damage to lego buildings in a mock earthquake? Variables are soil, earthquake and damage.

Hi Corbin,

I'd like to help you with your project but I need a bit more information. What was the question [hypothesis] that you asked and how did you test it [experiments]? Since you said Lego i am assuming you built a structure out of blocks to see how well it could withstand an 'earthquake'. But what is the independent variable that you are testing--different types of soil? --different earthquake strengths? How are you making an earthquake?

For a graph, I would think a simple bar chart with the dependent variable, the degree of damage, on the y-axis and the independent variable, soil type or force, on the x-axis would be the best to show the effects. Do each experiment at least three times and plot the average. If you are using the Excel program to plot the results you can also have it calculate and plot the standard deviation for the three runs. That makes your experiments a lot more reliable statistically. Here's some basic information on graphing your data: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ml#keyinfo
And here's a more advanced tutorial on statistical analysis of data: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ysis.shtml

Please tell me more details about your project and i will be better able to make suggestions.

Best wishes,

SciB