1. Investigative Question(s) (problem to be solved) What is the purpose of your experiment? (2 points) 

Why are you doing this experiment? What question are you trying to answer and/or what problem are you trying to solve? 

2.a. Hypothesis based on Investigative Question, written in the future tense: (2 points) 

Before explaining what a hypothesis is, you must be aware of the independent and dependent variables. 

Independent variable: the variable you change during the experiment. 

For example: In an experiment where you are measuring the growth rate of plants under full sunlight for 8 hours a day versus plants that only have 4 hours of full sunlight per day, the amount of time per day of full sunlight would be the independent variable. 

Dependent variable: the variable you observe during the course of the experiment—changes in the dependent variable depend on changes you make in the independent variable. 
For example: In the above experiment, the growth rate of plants is a dependent variable. 

A hypothesis; however, is an educated guess on what you think will happen to the dependent variable in your experiment when you change the independent variable. In this part, write in the future tense what you think will happen. 
For example: Plants under 8 hours of full sunlight will grow faster than plants under 4 hours of full sunlight. 

2.b. “If…then…” statement on the Hypothesis: (2 points) 

Here, you phrase your hypothesis in the following manner: 
“If {a particular independent variable is changed}, then {there is also a change in a certain dependent variable}.” 
For example: If plants are placed under 8 hours of full sunlight, then they will grow faster than plants placed under 4 hours of full sunlight. 
For a hypothesis to be good, it needs to be testable, meaning that you can measure the changes you are making in the independent variable and the changes that happen in the dependent variable. 
Note: your hypothesis does not have to be proven correct at the end of the experiment. In fact, it can be proven wrong at the end of the experiment and still be good.  
    
  
3. Procedure: 

Materials Needed (list as bullet points) (3 points) 

What things do you need to conduct your experiment? This is a list of all the things you will need for your experiment including tools, equipments, resources, substances etc. 

Method (numbered step by step instructions) (3 points) 

What are you going to do to test your hypothesis? This is where you include clear, step-by-step instructions on what you will do in your experiment. This section includes the use of the materials listed above and data collection. 

4. Identify the “Control” (conditions or materials that stay the same) for your experiment: (2 points)

 

What variables do you want to stay the same in order to guarantee a fair experiment? The control, also known as the controlled variable is a variable that you want to remain constant in order to make sure that changes in the dependent variable are being observed only as a result of changes you make in the independent variable. In other words, the experiment will be invalid if the controlled variable is not monitored or kept equal.  

5. Identify the “Variable” (conditions or materials that change; only 1 change at a time) for your experiment: (2 points) See point 2.a. for definitions on independent and dependent variables. 

6. Attach Sample Data Sheets you will use to record your data (sketches, logs, charts, etc.) Brainstorm ideas on how to graph your data: (4 points) 

The data sheet is where you will record your observations. It should be arranged in a way that makes the most sense for your experiment (tables, charts, sketches, logs etc…) in order to best display changes you made in the independent variable and the changes that happened in the dependent variable. 
Think of the best ways to visually represent the observations that you will note in your data sheet when you conduct the experiment. It could be a line graph, bar chart, pie chart etc.