Drip, Drop Lab
Overview: Wasting water has become a huge problem in our country. On very cold nights, some people often let their faucets drip during the night to keep them from freezing. Others may simply let a leaky faucet continue to leak because it doesn’t seem like a big problem. Currently, California is going through one of the most severe droughts on record and the governor has been declared a state of emergency. You and your group are going to design and perform an experiment to make a prediction about how much water is wasted due to a leaky faucet.
Question:
How much water do you think a leaky faucet will waste in one day?
Hypothesis: Make an educated guess about how things work.
If , then .
[I do this] [this will happen]
Design and Test an Experiment: Write the procedures (steps/directions) to doing your experiment and identify the Independent and Dependent Variables. What materials do you need?
Independent Variable-
Dependent Variable-
Materials- Graduated Cylinder, paper cup, paper clip, stop watch, water, plastic cup
Procedures- (you can add or subtract bullet points)
Analyze Results
Gather measurable data and input the data into a data table under the Independent and Dependent variables. Plot the points onto a graph, label the axis and increments, and draw a “line of best fit.”
Data Table
Trial # /(Independent Variable) /
(Dependent Variable)
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Trial 4
Trial 5
Trial 6
Trial 7
Trial 8
Trial 9
Trial 10
Drops of Water Over Time
0
*Don’t forgot to fill out the Observation Log at the SAME TIME
as completing Checkpoint #2
Observation Log
Observations: Write and draw anything that you see or notice throughout
the experiment. Write down any problems that you had or anything that
happened that you did not expect to happen.
Observations using a Picture Observations in Words
Conclusion: What do the results say about your hypothesis?
1. How many gallons do you think drip from the faucet per minute? per hour? per day? Note: 1 gallon = 3785.41 mL
2. Given that you must pay .004 dollars per gallon, how much does the leaky faucet cost per day and per year?
Drip, Drop Lab Reflection Questions
1. Looking at your data analysis (table and graph), did you notice any patterns? If so, describe the pattern in general. In other words, how does the Independent Variable affect the Dependent Variable in this experiment? Think Cause and Effect.
2. List all of the math skills/tools that were used in this experiment. Where did you see each tool being used? How can these skills be used to make sense of an experiment such as the Drip-Drop lab?
3. How can you use the data that you collected to make predictions about how much water we waste? Why might this information be useful?
4. Essential Question:
How can Graphing be used to make better decisions?