Activities

1. What is a conclusion?
   
   
2. What should your conclusion be based upon?
   
   
3. Explain what it means to analyze and interpret data.

4. A science class observed caterpillars in cocoons.  They recorded the number of days each caterpillar was in its cocoon until it became a butterfly.  What are two interpretations you can make from the data table below?  

5. Becky did an investigation to see if plant food helped her tulips grow better than regular soil.  She gave plant 1 plant food, while putting plant 2 in plain, regular soil.  Below is a graph she created based on her collected data.
   
   

Becky concluded that the plant food helped her tulips grow better.  Do you agree with her conclusion?  Why or why not?

6. Tim wanted to see how a diet drink would affect weight loss.  One of his friends, Carlos, drank the diet drink once a day for 3 weeks.  Another friend, Greg, did not drink the diet drink at all.  Both Carlos and Greg ran 2 miles every day during the investigation.  Below is the data that Tim collected.  What conclusion can you make about the effect of the diet drink on weight loss?  Explain how you reached this conclusion.

7. José wondered if the temperature of a rubber band affected its ability to stretch.  He put Rubber Band 1 in the freezer, Rubber Band 2 on his counter at room temperature, and heated Rubber Band 3 in the microwave.  He then stretched each rubber band as long as he could until it broke.  Below is the data table he created.
   
   

Can José draw a fair conclusion based on the data he collected?  Why or why not?

Answer Key/Rubric

1. A conclusion is a statement that confirms or disproves your hypothesis.
2. A conclusion should be based on the collected data and observations.
3. Analyzing data means to study it.  Interpreting data means to understand what the data is showing.
4. Some responses include, but are not limited to:
   • The caterpillar in cocoon 3 was the last to come out.
   • The caterpillar in cocoon 1 was the first to come out.
   • The colder the temperature, the longer the caterpillar stayed in the cocoon.
   • Caterpillars came out of their cocoon within a month.
5. Student is able to explain why they agree with Becky’s conclusion and explain both their analysis and interpretation of the graph.
6. Student can identify that the diet drink did not help to accelerate weight loss in this given time period.
7. Acceptable responses might include, but are not limited to:

• Investigation is not valid
• Missing the control
• Rubber bands were not the same size at the start