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If you were carrying out an investigation into the effect of light on seed germination, you would change the amount of light to which the seeds are exposed.

Investigations 02

This is the second of three KS2 Science quizzes on investigations and it looks in particular at some of the variables and equipment used in various experiments in order to get fair results.

Investigations normally involve experiments, predictions, methods, equipment and variables. You should have many opportunities to plan investigations in your science classes. Investigations are lots of fun and are one of the most interesting things to do in science lessons. But they are also a chance to develop your skill in being logical and methodical. Not only that, but investigation is also how scientists discover new facts and learn more about how the world works.

See how well you can answer these questions about variables, equipment and fair tests in this second Investigations quiz.

If you were testing materials to see whether they conduct electricity using a circuit and bulbs, what would be the dependent variable?

The length of the crocodile leads

How long the investigation takes

The strength of the battery

Whether electricity passes through the material

The dependent variable is the variable you measure - here it would be measured by whether the bulb works

If you were carrying out an investigation into the effect of light on seed germination, which variable would you change?

The amount of water you give the seeds

The temperature of the places where you've left the seeds

The amount of light to which the seeds are exposed

The types of seeds which will be germinating

Only the amount of light should be changed - all other variables would be kept the same

You are testing materials to see whether they conduct electricity. You have built a circuit of a battery and two crocodile leads which you will attach to the material. What is missing?

A switch

A light bulb, buzzer or motor

A parallel circuit

Nothing is missing

Without a light bulb, buzzer, or motor, you will not be able to see whether electricity can pass through the material you are testing - if electricity can pass through, the buzzer will buzz, the motor will run or the bulb will light up

If you were carrying out an investigation into the effect of light on seed germination, how would you measure the dependent variable?

By how tall the shoots grow in a certain number of days

By the number of days it takes the seeds to germinate

By the number of seeds which germinate after a certain number of days

Either the number of days it takes or by the number of seeds which germinate

The amount of light might also affect how much the shoots grow, but we are only interested in germination in this investigation

If you investigated the effect of water resistance on different shapes moulded from plasticine by dropping them in a beaker of water and timing how long it takes them to reach the bottom, what would happen if you changed the amount of water, the shape of the plasticine and the mass of the different shapes?

Your results would all be the same

Your investigation would take too much time

The investigation would not be a fair test

You wouldn't have enough time to display your results

As it's the shapes we are investigating, only the shapes and nothing else must change

If you were carrying out an investigation into the effect of light on seed germination, what would be the dependent variable?

Whether the seeds germinate

How many seeds you plant

How tall the plants grow

How much light you give the seeds

The dependent variable is the thing we are measuring - in this case, seed germination

What unit of measurement would you use to record the amount of time it takes different shapes to reach the bottom of a beaker of water?

Centimetres

Degrees Celsius

Seconds

Millilitres

Because you would be measuring the amount of time it takes, you would need to measure in seconds

You would like to investigate the effect of water resistance on different shapes moulded from plasticine. You are dropping the shapes in a beaker of water. What is the dependent variable?

The amount of time it takes the shape to reach the bottom of the beaker

The amount of water in the beaker

The mass of the plasticine shape

The colour of the plasticine

We are measuring water resistance which can be seen from the amount of time it takes an object to sink - a longer time means more water resistance and a shorter time means less

If you were testing the effect of water resistance on three different plasticine shapes, which variable would you be changing?

The mass of the plasticine shape

The shape of the plasticine

The amount of water in the beaker

All of the above

You would have to make sure the mass (weight) of each of the three shapes was exactly the same

10.

If you were testing materials to see whether they conduct electricity using a circuit and bulbs, what variable would you be changing?

The strength of the battery

The number of bulbs

The material

The time it takes the electricity to complete the circuit