Data
Analysis and Research Methods
Course Description and Syllabus
The Crater Experiment #9 -
Part 2, Activity 2
Adapted from an activity developed by Bert
Gunter, Merk Reaearch Labas
Key
Purposes:
- Students can design, run, and analyze a
one-factor-at-a-time experiment with
continuous data. This includes stating the
question to be addressed and stating the
hypothesis.
- Students can explain the need for control,
randomness, and replication in
experimentation.
- Students can draw the geometric design space
graphically and represent the effect the
predictor variable has on the response
variable as a vector.
- Students can evaluate significance using
graphical methods.
- Students can calculate a linear predictor
equation and test for adequacy.
Description:
The Crater Experiment.
This experiment is given context by having
students do research on the Internet about how
craters are formed and giving oral reports on
their research. The experiment is to study the
size of the crater formed by dropping a
ball-bearing when the height is varied between two
levels. Students become familiar with terms like
predictor and response variable, predictor
equations, geometric design space, slope, y
intercept, hypotheses, and center points. With the
use of a C-E chart, they design an experiment with
low, center, and high values for height, the
predictor value. They represent the experiment
graphically and use the center points to determine
the adequacy of a linear model. Cooperation with a
physics teacher can result in extensions of this
project.
Alignment
with Michigan Curriculum Framework:
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Mathematics
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Strand
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Standard
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Benchmark High School
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I
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Patterns,
Relationships and Functions
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1
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2, 3
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I
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Patterns,
Relationships and Functions
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2
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1, 2, 6
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II
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Geometry
and Measurement
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3
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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III
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Data
Analysis and Statistics
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1
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1, 2, 3, 4
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III
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Data
Analysis and Statistics
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2
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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III
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Data
Analysis and Statistics
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2
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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Science
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Strand
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Standard
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Benchmark High School
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I
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Construct
New Scientific and Personal Knowledge
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1
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1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9
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II
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Reflect on
the Nature, Adequacy, and Connections Across
Scientific Knowledge
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1
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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V
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Use
Scientific Knowledge from the Earth and Space
Sciences in Real-World Contexts
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4
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6
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English
Language Arts
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Strand
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Standard
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Benchmark High School
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Meaning and
Communication
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1
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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4
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1
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Voice
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6
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1
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Skills and
Process
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7
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1, 2, 3
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Genre and
Craft of Language
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8
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1, 2, 3
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Depth of
Understanding
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9
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1
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Inquiry and
Research
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11
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1, 2, 3, 4
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Critical
Standards
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12
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1, 2
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Social
Studies
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Strand
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Standard
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Benchmark High School
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II
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Geographic
Perspective
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2
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1, 2
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V
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Inquiry
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1
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1, 2
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