Chem 1151L

“The Ziploc® Bag and the Scientific Method”–Report Sheet

This assignment will be used to summarize your work in the Ziploc® Bag Experiment and will count as one laboratory report. This report should be completed individually by providing short answers to each criteria listed below. Submit your assignment as stated by your instructor.

  1. Clearly explain the steps and purpose of the scientific method.
  2. Describe your initial observations.
  3. Explain the major goal of this experiment.
  4. Write a hypothesis to explain at least one of your observations.
  5. Describe the first experiment that you conducted to test your hypothesis.
  6. Detail what was learned from the first experiment, which includes answering the question “Was the cause of one of the observations determined?”.
  7. Insert a table to provide which and how much ingredient was used in each experiment. Experiment 1 should be the prescribed experiment in the assignment handout. The following table is an example of how to set up the columns in your table. You can add columns to the right of the “Phenol Red Solution” if you used any additional materials.

Table 1. Experimental amounts of ingredients used and corresponding results.

Experiment / Baking Soda / Calcium Chloride / Phenol Red Solution / Results
1 / ½ spoonful
<or mass in g> / 1 spoonful
<or mass in g> / 1 test tube (10 mL) / Observation 1;
Observation 2;
Observation 3
2 / 1 spoonful / N/A / 1 test tube (10 mL) / List observation(s)
  1. Discuss the causes of your observations by stating your observations (or data) and explaining.Clearly and thoughtfully describe the results of the experiment as well as any meanings to the reader in words. Write at least one paragraph for each of the three observations. In other words, you should have one paragraph for each observation that describes the cause or source of that observation. For example, what was observed? Which experiments were important in determining the cause or source of an observation? What were your controls and variable in the relevant experiments? What did you learn from each experiment? What is the underlying cause or source of each observation?
  1. Insert a table to summarize your major findings for the causes of your observations.For example, you could summarize your findings in a table such as:

Table 2. Causes of experimental observations

Observation / Cause
<Observation 1> / Mixing x and y
Observation 2> / z
Observation 3> / Mixing y and z
  1. Tables go after the paragraphs in which you describe the observation and its cause
  2. Do not write full sentences in a table.
  3. A table is never a substitute for a well-written body of text. Explain with words in paragraph form and then summarize your main points in a table.
  1. Write a short conclusion that summarizesthe major findings of the experiment. That is, briefly summarize the cause or source of each observation.