Design a controlled experiment to answer the question above.
List all the variables. The
variables may include:
-Type of cup used.
-Volume of water in each cup.
-Temperature of the water in each cup.
-Amount of coffee used in each cup.
etc
Things to consider are:
-Will the milk be the same temperature as the coffee or will it be colder.
-What will be the control?
Design a controlled experiment to investigate the hypothesis above.
Write a report
You must include a:
Heading - Title of your experiment
Introduction- A one paragraph statement
introducing the topic you are about to investigate.
Aim - what are you trying to achieve. In this case it would be
"Does adding cold milk to hot coffee keep it hotter for longer"
Apparatus - This is a detailed list of the equipment and the
number of each that you will need to conduct the experiment.
Method - This is a critical part of the report. This is a detailed
prescriptive outline of how you conducted your experiment. Others should
be able to read the report and duplicate your experiment and arrive at
the same conclusion.
Results - Results should be, where ever possible, expressed in
table format. The results from the table should then be graphed. Click
for more information on graphs and tables.
All graphs must have:
- a heading
- clearly labeled axis with units.
- clearly labeled legend if more than one graph is plotted on one set
of axis.
All tables must have:
-Heading.
-The units are written at the top of the column.
-Neat lines or columns drawn with a ruler.
Discussion - A discussion of what your results show along with
any errors or problems with your method should be outlined here.
Conclusion - This is a brief comment justifying the aim. For example
it may read as follows " Adding cold milk to hot coffee does keep
the coffee at a higher temperature for longer than if no cold milk is
added" .
Jonathon set about designing his experiment. He obtained the items shown on the right.
Criticise his selection with reasons.
The temperature in the kitchen of an experimental, energy efficient, house was measured throughout the day. The results are shown on the left.
What is wrong with the table
on the left?
Solution
Plot the temperature against the number of hours that have elapsed since
the first measurement was taken.
