Lab

Investigation Report Expectations (Middle School)

TITLE: 

 (Title of the lab, your name, grade, date)

I.                    GUIDING QUESTION:  How do the weight, shape and color of the brown beans change in a given population? And is this the result of adaptations or just a variation?

II.                  HYPOTHESIS:  I believe that the beans will vary in all three categories. But the most visible differences will be in weight and color, while the difference in shape may not be as visible, but when present the difference will be the greatest.

III.                VARIABLES: 

For this lab there are no controlled variables, because I am testing the difference between beans, and there is no one been that is perfect or that you can say is the control. The only controlled aspect is the type of beans I chose, and those are brown beans.

But there is a manipulated variable and that are in fact the beans, which will always have different weight and shapes and color, recording their color, weight, will give me the necessary results. 

I expect that each bean will be different, either in weight or shape or color. But I predict that the difference won’t be extreme, unless in specific cases where the bean is either extraordinarily different in weight, shape or color.

IV.               EXPLORATION (Plan and do a test): 

                      (Materials)   25 beans

                                         Notebook

                                        Basic school supplies (pen and paper)

                                        Plastic tray, for sorting beans

                                          Plastic cup, to place sorted beans in

                      (Procedure) Lists the steps required to replicate the experiment

RECORD & ANALYZE:

A.      IMAGES/VIDEO: 

B.      B.  Data Tables

Bean Type	Weight in grams	Shape (observation)	Color
Brown bean	.8	Smooth	Brown with light spots
Brown bean	.9	Smooth	Two Tone
Brown bean	.5	Smooth	Brown
Brown bean	.8	Wrinkled	Purple
Brown bean	.6	Smooth	Brown
Brown bean	.7	Smooth	Brown with dark spots

Brown bean	.8	Smooth	Brown With light spots
Brown bean	1	Smooth	Two Tone
Brown bean	.4	Wrinkled	Brown with light spots
Brown bean	.5	Wrinkled	Purple
Brown bean	.6	Smooth	Purple
Brown bean	.8	Smooth	Brown
Brown bean	.6	Wrinkled	Brown With dark spots
Brown bean	1.1	Smooth	Two Tone

C.       

Brown bean	.7	Smooth	Brown
Brown bean	.5	Wrinkled	Purple
Brown bean	1.3	Curve and bent in an unusual way	Three tone Purple, Brown and white
Brown bean	.8	Smooth	Purple
Brown bean	.9	Smooth	Brown with darks spots

D.     Graphs:    

Variation in weight graph: (below)

E.      

           

G.     Analysis of Data: 

From the data table above, I observed that purple beans are generally bigger than brown beans. They are always heavier and are smooth most of the time and don’t have spots. Interestingly the biggest bean was a two town bean, which I believe was mutated. The data table shows the weight of the beans, their color and if they are wrinkled or smooth. These categories are the ones that vary the most; therefore I decided to record them.

After carefully analyzing the data, the weight of beans, their color and their shape, whether they are smooth or wrinkled. I noticed several important things.

Firstly: the weight of the beans spans from .3 grams to 1 gram, the lightest bean was wrinkled and was light brown with dark spots. While the heaviest bean was two toned, half was beige half brown; it was smooth and had no indentations. 

These observations were not repeated again for the same colored beans. But I did notice a different type of pattern; generally purple beans are the heavies and the largest, while dark brown beans are the smallest. The purple beans all ranged from .6 grams to 1 gram, while the brown beans never exceeded .6 grams. Of course there were some exceptions to this pattern, like the large two toned bean.

I believe that my data is accurate. There are several key reasons with which I can back up my thoughts. First and foremost I measured the beans carefully making sure that the scale was accurate, and I always put them to the side, so that I don’t accidentally measure and analyze the same bean twice. Another measure that I applied to ensuring my data’s accuracy is I made a system of describing the beans, the colors are light brown, medium brown, dark brown, purple and two tones, while the textures are smooth and wrinkled. This meant that all of the beans would have the same color names, making it easier for myself to notice patterns.

V.                 Concept Acquisition (CONCLUSION): 

VI.               How do the weight, shape and color of the brown beans change in a given population? And is this the result of adaptations or just a variation?  Based on the recorded data, I can say that the weight, shape and color all change in a given population, at least in the brown bean population. Unlike my original hypothesis, the data showed that the weight was the greatest changing factor; it varied from weights of .5 grams to weights of 1.1 grams. Of course this could change for other populations, where color and shape may vary more. I believe that these variations are the result of a variation, because beans have no need to adapt, their environment could not have changed over the course of time, because the earth’s soil has remained similar. The bean that we know today, was not present in pre-historic times, therefore the soil had roughly the same amount of minerals and rocks within it. But if the soil were to change, I believe that the beans would also adapt, presumably in weight and shape. Because the color of the bean has no real affect.  

VII.             Concept Application (FURTHER INQUIRY):  

My data is valid, or as valid as it can be in the giver circumstances and with the given equipment. Of course, as always, there is room for error, the greatest place would be the weighing of the bean, because even though I tuned the scale, it could still miss represents the results due to old age and constant use. The color and shape aspect of measurement was accurate, because I constantly used the same words in my observations, brown, purple, two toned, and brown with light, or dark spots. Whereas the shape was smooth or wrinkled. Taking into consideration that I had observed many beans over the course of this experiment it is safe to say that I have a trained eye for spotting the defenses within beans. I could have improved the accuracy of my data by using a digital scale, and by perhaps asking other people to determine the shape and color as well, but this would take the lab to a whole different level, requiring more than the given time and more people and materials. Another area which I could have changed, was the areas of measurements, I could have also measured the length, and diameter. This would either disprove or further prove my current findings, because as always the more areas tested the better. All in all I believe that this was a successful lab, which showed me how to document the change within a population.