ASTRONOMY- ADV Graphing Presentation

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN- VARIABLES

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE - THE VARIABLE / THING THAT IS
CHANGED IN AN EXPERIMENT. IT GOES ON THE X-AXIS OF A
GRAPH.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE- THE VARIABLE / THING THAT IS
MEASURED IN AN EXPERIMENT. IT GOES ON THE Y-AXIS OF A
GRAPH. WE WANT TO SEE IF IT IS GOING UP OR DOWN.

CONTROL VARIABLES- ALL OF THE VARIABLES/THINGS WE
WANT TO KEEP CONSTANT THROUGHOUT AN EXPERIMENT.
OTHERWISE OUR DATA IS UNRELIABLE.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN- GROUPS

EXPERIMENT GROUP -THIS IS THE GROUP THAT
RECEIVES A TREATMENT OR CHANGE IN AN
EXPERIMENT.

CONTROL GROUP -THIS IS THE GROUP THAT DOES
NOT RECEIVE A TREATMENT OR CHANGE IN AN
EXPERIMENT.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN- EXAMPLE ANALYSIS

Example experiment: A group of teachers want to know how cinnamon gum affects student performance during exams. They found that cinnamon gum improves scores on exams by 5%.

Step 2: Look at
the two Axis-
Identify the
units for each
variable.

Step 4: Look for
any trends or
patterns in the
data.

7 STEPS OF GRAPHING

1. List all of the variables. (independent and dependent)
2. What are the units for measuring the variables?
3. What is the range for each variable?
4. Are there any trends or patterns? What are they?
5. Overall, what is happening and why?
6. What conclusions can be drawn from the data?
7. What are the potential weaknesses in the data?

Step 1: Look at
the two Axis-
Identify the
independent
variable/s and
the dependent
variable. Use the
key if
applicable.

Step 2: Look at
the two Axis-
Identify the
units for each
variable.

Step 3: Look at
the two Axis-
Identify the
range of the
data.

Step 4: Look for
any trends or
patterns in the
data.

Step 5: If
possible,
visualize the
meaning of the
data.