An Experimental Control
To conduct a scientific investigation, care must be taken to follow experimental procedures. You must design an experiment to test your hypothesis. When planning your experiment remember to:
1. Keep everything the same except for the single variable being tested, which is the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:. A variable is something that can be changed in the experiment. It is what you are testing. Everything else must be the same and only one variable or condition is altered or changed.
2. A control experiment should be used. This experiment is the same and receives the same attention as the test experiment, however, it will not be influenced by the variable the that is being tested. (INDEPENDENT VARIABLE).
For the Browning Apple Investigation, the independent viable is the type of acid that apple slices are covered with. The effect of the acid being considered is the browning of the surface of the apples.
For the control, use apple slices with no acid covering their surfaces.
Clues for recording data is the next step in the teaching tips list.
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