Do you see what I see?June 2013
Lesson 4: What color do fish see?
Penny Pecking Activity
Instructions: Using the information learned in this unit and the data that you collected in the first part of this investigation, develop two hypotheses that you are interested in testing. Make certain to explain the scientific basis for your hypotheses. Decide on one hypothesis to test. Before you begin your experiment, have your teacher approve your hypothesis and experiment.
Group Number:
Guppy Strain Assigned:
Important Penny-Pecking Observations Made on Your Strain in Part I of Lesson 4:
Hypothesis # 1:
What is the scientific basis of this hypothesis?
Hypothesis # 2:
What is the scientific basis of this hypothesis?
Experimental Design
Instructions: Design a procedure for the experiment you wish to conduct at the penny-pecking station. This procedure should allow you to test the hypothesis you developed on the previous page. You may use bullet points or draw diagrams to detail the steps you plan to carry out. Before you begin your experiment, have your teacher approve your protocol.
Materials Available
- Color filters or colored light bulbs
- 1 four-penny wheel(colors: red, blue, magenta, yellow)
- 1 stopwatch
Experimental design:
Hypothesis:
Experiment:
Data Collection
Instructions: Using the space below, record the data you collect in your penny-pecking experiment(s).
Data Analysis
Instructions: Complete the following.
1) Calculate the mean number of pecks for all the fish in your strain to each of the pennies under each of the lighting conditions you used. Show your work, and label each calculation.
2) Using the data your group collected at the penny-pecking station, create a graph that can be used to show your data:
a)Label both the x- and y-axes, and give your graph an appropriate title.
b)Based on the range of your plotting data (in this case, the means of your raw data), choose an appropriate scale for the y-axis.
c)Plot the mean number of pecks to each penny under each lighting condition you used for all the fish in your strain. Use crayons or markers to color your bars.
d)Create a legend on the right side of the graph to distinguish the different varieties of bars you drew.
Scientific Explanations
Instructions: Based on your hypothesis that you tested in this experiment, the data you collected in your experiment, and the science principles that you have read and talked about in class, develop a scientific explanation that examines if your hypothesis was supported or not. In this explanation, make certain to state a claim, provide your evidence and make connections to the scientific principles that you are learning.
Hypothesis Evaluation and Revision
Instructions: Based on your scientific explanation from above, evaluate the hypothesis you developed and tested. Did the data support it? Why or why not? Then, propose a revised or next hypothesis that takes into account your data. Remember that even a “correct” hypothesis can still be revised and retested after evaluating data collected to test the original hypothesis.
Evaluation of Hypothesis # 1:
Revision of Hypothesis # 1:
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