Good job... you just need to refine your answers a bit.

Try to ensure you

understand what the question is asking before you write an answer.

Daniel-Faith .E. Watkin

Name: ______________________________________ July 18, 2024
Date: ________________________

Student Exploration: Effect of Environment on New Life Form

Vocabulary: controlled experiment, hypothesis, variable

Prior Knowledge Question (Do this BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

Johnny likes to watch the birds that visit his birdfeeder. His favorite bird is the cardinal. How
could Johnny determine which kind of birdseed cardinals prefer? Explain your answer in detail.
One plausible postulate that could be introduced here, would be to research the bird's species-specific dietary
____________________________________________________________________________
needs .
Thus, by doing so, this gives our subject the ability to provide for the bird's nutritional needs and to
____________________________________________________________________________
meet the required dietary standard
____________________________________________________________________________
An appropriate answer would involve describing an experimental set up.
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Gizmo Warm-up
Imagine a new alien life form has just been discovered on a
nearby planet. Your job is to study this new life form. The
Effect of Environment on New Life Form Gizmo shows 100
individuals that have been transported from the planet to your
laboratory.

1. The new life form can have three shapes: thin, medium,
and thick. How many of each shape are there now?
74 19 7
Thin: _______ Medium: _______ Thick: _______

2. Click Play ( No
). Do the numbers of each type of alien change over time? ______________

3. Click Reset ( ). A variable is something that can be changed in an experiment. Look on

the SIMULATION pane. What are the three variables you can change in your laboratory?
These variables include; Water, Light, and Temperature
_________________________________________________________________________

4. Which of these variables do you think will have the greatest effect on the aliens? Explain.
I am led to believe that altering the temperature in this environment will likely have the most impact on
_________________________________________________________________________
on these species. Although most species can live without water for short period of time and light
doesn't necessarily have an effect on the overall wellbeing of the species. However, there is a high
_________________________________________________________________________
possibility that altering the Temperature in the environment can aide in the process of denaturation.
Fair. However, it could have been explained better.

2019
 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity:
 Click Reset.
Controlling
 Select the BAR CHART tab.
variables
 Turn on Show numerical values.

Question: What variables control the shape of the alien life forms?

1. Record: Record the starting numbers of thin, medium, and thick aliens:
19 7
Thin: _______
74 Medium: _______ Thick: _______

2. Observe: Change the Light to 0 hours/day, the Water to 1 drops/hr, and the Temp. to
0 °C. Click Play, and observe the aliens until the numbers are stable. Click Pause.

A. How many of each type of alien are there now?

2
Thin: _______ 8
Medium: _______ 90
Thick: _______

B. Click Reset. Change the Light to 24 hours/day, the Water to 20 drops/hr, and the
Temp. to 30 °C. Click Play. How many of each type of alien are there now?

90
Thin: _______ 8
Medium: _______ 2
Thick: _______

3. Analyze: From the observations you made above, can you state exactly why the aliens
changed their shape? Why or why not?
Based on the figures presented before me, I am led to believe that the aliens have a tendency to thrive
_________________________________________________________________________
better in an environment where they are exposed to little to no water, light or temperature.
This analysis was deduced with the use of the figures above.
_________________________________________________________________________
In figure (1) we are given the estimates for each type of alien after variables were changed to Light;0 hrs,
_________________________________________________________________________
water;1 drop/hr & Temperature: 0 degrees. However in figure (2) we are given the estimates of the
amount of each type of alien species after the variable were increased.
_________________________________________________________________________
It is not possible to say which variable caused the change as all three were changed at once.

4. Form a hypothesis: A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for an observation. Hypotheses

must be testable. Write a hypothesis about what causes the aliens to change their shape.
Hypothesis:
_________________________________________________________________________
If we maintain the variables of light, water, and temperature at consistently low levels, the aliens' shape will
_________________________________________________________________________
gradually increase in size. Conversely, if we increase these variables, the aliens' shape will decrease in size.
The hypothesis should focus on only one independent variable at a time. If all three variables are changed,
_________________________________________________________________________
how will you know which one is causing the change?
_________________________________________________________________________

(Activity continued on next page)

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Activity (continued from previous page)

5. Design an experiment: A controlled experiment is an experiment in which only one

variable is changed at a time.
By changing the temperature of
Describe a controlled experiment you could use to test your hypothesis. ________________
the environment we can predict a possible outcome that the shape of the aliens will most likely change from
_________________________________________________________________________
thin the thick.
The description has to be in more detail and be specific with what will be done with each variable. What
_________________________________________________________________________
temperature will you start with and by how much will it be changed? What will happen to the other 2
variables?
6. Run the Gizmo: Run a controlled experiment to test your hypothesis. Describe the results of
your experiment below.
After changing only the temperature to 27 degrees Celsius, the figures showed that the majority of the
aliens were thin, a small minority were medium, and the least amount were thick. The distribution is as
_________________________________________________________________________
follows:
Fair effort.
_________________________________________________________________________
- Thin: 83
- Medium: 13
- Thick: 4
7. Run the Gizmo: Run controlled experiments to determine the effect of each variable.
I have noticed that altering the light in
A. How does changing the amount of light affect the aliens? _____________________
this environment causes the aliens to
Actually the amount of light had no effect on the shape of the aliens. become thicker
___________________________________________________________________

The alteration of this variable has no

B. How does changing the amount of water affect the aliens? ____________________
significant effect on the aliens
___________________________________________________________________
This variable forces the aliens to change
C. How does changing the temperature affect the aliens? ________________________
their form from thick to thin
___________________________________________________________________

In conclusion, the only variables that

8. Draw conclusions: Which variable or variables affected the aliens? ____________________
appear to have an effect on the
aliens were light and temperature.
_________________________________________________________________________
Only temperature!

9. Think and discuss: Why is it important to only change one variable at a time? If possible,
discuss your answer with your classmates and teacher.
By changing one variable, we are given the opportunity to see the individual effects that each variable has
_________________________________________________________________________
on the aliens. Thus allowing us to fully understand and interpret the direct cause and effect between each
variable .and the observed outcome.
_________________________________________________________________________
More could have been said.
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2019