Lab #1: Which type of pasta is stronger?

Goals:

You are to come up with an experiment to determine the difference in strength between spaghetti and linguini and then determine how much stronger the type of pasta is.

Background:

Our class was hired by a pasta company to determine the difference in strength between uncooked spaghetti and linguini. You will create a procedure that will allow you to collect at least 10 data points for you type of pasta. Using this data, you will use the graphing techniques learned in math to determine what type of relationship the two variables obey, derive a formula that relates the two variables, and compute a strength coefficient that allows you to compare the strength of the spaghetti to the strength of linguini. In this lab, the independent variable is ______which will be represented by the letter ______in formulas. The dependent variable will be ______with will be represented by the letter ______in formulas.

Materials:

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-Uncooked pasta

-2 textbooks

-2 cups

-String

-Pennies

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Lab Setup:

Draw a diagram that shows your setup. Make sure all of your materials appear labeled in your diagram.

Procedure:

  1. Stack 6 text books into two piles side by side
  2. Thread one piece of spaghetti through the handle of the ‘penny basket’
  3. Prop the spaghetti on the textbooks to that 2cm of the spaghetti is over each book
  4. Slowly add pennies to the ‘penny basket’ one by one until the spaghetti breaks
  5. Record the number of pennies in the basket in the table below.
  6. Repeat the process for 10 total trials, adding an additional strand of spaghetti each time.

Data:

Pasta strands / pennies
1 / 70
2 / 125
3 / 200
4 / 260
5 / 310
6 / 380
7 / 450
8 / 499
9 / 576
10 / 647

Analysis:

  1. Create a scale for the independent variable on the x –axis including labels and units. Make sure the scale is consistent from zero.
  2. Create a scale for the dependent variable on the y –axis including labels and units. Make sure the scale is consistent from zero.
  3. Plot your data
  4. If the data looks linear, USE A RULER to draw a line of best fit through the data.
  5. Choose two points that are ON YOUR LINE OF BEST FIT and draw a box around them. The farther apart these points, the better.
  6. Use these two points to calculate the slope of your line of best fit in the sample calculations section below
  7. Write the formula for slope
  8. Plug in each value with the units (look at your axis for the units)
  9. Calculate the slope and report the answer with units (if there are any)
  10. Since the data is linear, you can derive a formula from this graph using the general equation of a line. Usually, the equation for a line isy=mx+b.
  11. You want to replace the general ‘y’ in the equation above with the letter you chose to represent the value on your y-axis.
  12. You want to replace the general ‘m’ in the equation above with the value you calculated as your slope of the best fit line.
  13. You want to replace the general ‘x’ in the equation above with the letter you chose to represent the value on your x-axis.
  14. You want to replace the general ‘b’ in the equation above with the value of your y-intercept on the graph.

Slope Calculation:

Point 1: ( , ) Formula:Answer with units:

Point 2: ( , )

Plug in with units:

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Formula Derivation

Y = m x + b

____ = ______+ ______

Conclusion:

IN A PARAGRAPH address the following in full sentences.

-Restate the goal

-Report your results

-Compare your results to the other half of the class to determine

  • Which pasta is stronger
  • How MUCH stronger that pasta is

-Offer a source of error for the lab overall (stating human error DOES NOT COUNT)

-Suggest another investigation the reader could do that would further their understanding of this topic.

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