diet high in saturated fat. Research on the internet was an appropriate method because scientists have been studying the effects of diets high in saturated fat for a long time and so there is a lot of information available.
4.4 Investigations in this book Throughout this book you will see
Investigate this. These ask you to design an
investigation. Some of them are Extended Investigations. These are more detailed investigations for you to research and design.
Activity Choosing suitable methods of investigation
Take reliability, accuracy, precision, fairness and ethics into consideration when choosing a suitable method of investigation for each of the following hypotheses:
1. Some materials are more effective at conducting heat than others. Design an investigation to test this hypothesis.
2. Thick elastic bands can withstand more force than thin elastic bands before they break. Design an investigation to test this hypothesis. Give one method that could be used to collect qualitative data and one method that could be used to collect quantitative data.
3. Describe how you could investigate if the shape of an egg affects the hatch rate in chickens, i.e. whether they hatch or not.
4. Design an investigation to test if a new plant food will improve the growth of houseplants.
5. Describe a suitable method to investigate the orbit of Earth around the sun. Chapter Summary
1. Experiments, modelling and research can be used to investigate scientific questions. 2. Science begins with observations and questions. 3. Scientists suggest a reason for their observations, identify a hypothesis and decide on a suitable way to investigate.
4. Quantitative data is data that is measured. 5. Qualitative data is data that is observed and not based on measurements, e.g. colour, smell and shape.
6. Reliable investigations give similar results every time they are repeated. 43
