Name: Faith N. and Anika Date: Aug 31, 2011 Per.

DESIGNING A CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT

I.

Purpose: To discover whether pill bugs like dead leaves or fresh leaves better. Hypothesis: If pill bugs like dead leaves, then they will go into the section containing dead leaves.

II.

Materials: tray with three connected sections equal amount of dead and fresh leaves 20 pill bugs habitat mimicking their natural environment to store pill bugs in. paper and pencil clock

III.

Procedure: Independent Variable: Dead or fresh leaves Dependent Variable: Pill bugs How many trials will be conducted: 4 trials, each 14 minutes long How many subjects will be used for each trial: 5 List all the factors that might affect the experiment and therefore must be controlled: Same type of leaf, amount, previous environment, and placement on tray.

Steps: 1) Gather materials (same amount of dead and fresh leaves) 2) Catch 20 pill bugs This can be done by: Search in your backyard under rocks and other objects that harbor moisture under them, such as a plant pot, a pile of leaves, and under ground. Keep them in the habitat described below until time to use them.
3) Store pill bugs in a contained habitat much like its original

environment, until time for the experiment. A pill bugs preferred habitat would have dirt, the needed moisture, and a couple of plants.
4) Prepare the tray by separating the dead leaves and the fresh leaves in

opposite end sections of the tray. There should be the same amount of dead and fresh leaves in each section.
5) Place the pill bugs in the middle, clear section.

6) Check the amount of pill bugs in each section every two minutes and record it on the data table.
7) If there are, for example, seven pill bugs in the dead leaf section, then

write seven in the dead leaf box in the data table. If there are seven in the fresh, write seven in the fresh box of the data table. If there are pill bugs in the center, record that in the data table as well. 8) At the end of 14 minutes, checking and recording every 2 minutes, it will be the end of the trial and you will start again. 9) For each new trial, clear the tray of pill bugs and put in a new group. From there, repeat steps 4- 9.

IV. Time -----------Dead leaf Middle Fresh leaf

Data table: 1:02 :04 1:04-:06 * 1:06- :08 1:08- :10 1:10- :12 1:12 - :14 1:14- 16

Trial One:

*amount of pill bugs in that section Trial Two: Time -----------Dead leaf Middle Fresh leaf Trial Three: Time -----------Dead leaf Middle Fresh leaf Trial four: Time -----------Dead leaf Middle Fresh leaf 1:02 :04 1:04-:06 1:06- :08 1:08- :10 1:10- :12 1:12 - :14 1:14- 16 1:02 :04 1:04-:06 1:06- :08 1:08- :10 1:10- :12 1:12 - :14 1:14- 16 1:02 :04 1:04-:06 1:06- :08 1:08- :10 1:10- :12 1:12 - :14 1:14- 16