Mythbusters Science

Mythbusters Science

Hypothesis: If caught in a rainstorm, you will stay drier by running for shelter opposed to walking.

Experimental Setup: The Mythbusters set up a controlled experiment to compare the amount of rainwater absorbed by walking versus running a set distance.

Background Questions:

(Before watching episode)

1.  Define, in your own words, each of these steps of the scientific method:  

     

     Question - A doubt or issue that one has excogitated.

     Hypothesis - A statement that expresses a specific question in the form of a theory.

     Experiment - A devised form of action that is developed to draw a conclusion of the           question and hypothesis.

     Analysis - After an experiment, data is collected and used to prove or disprove the hypothesis.

     Conclusion - The results drawn from experimentation and analysis of the hypothesis.

2.  The question to be answered by this segment of Mythbusters is "Do you get wetter by  walking or running in the rain"? Given this question, what hypothesis do you have?

  

     If caught in the rain, you will stay drier by running opposed to walking.

3.  Explain why a hypothesis is not just a guess.

      A hypothesis is based off a question and a hypothesis is rather specific with the     characteristics of the question.

4.  The Mythbusters have two options: conduct the experiment indoors in controlled conditions, or outdoors in nature. What are the pros and cons of each?

     Indoor pro: Reduced amount of variables.

     Indoor con: Less realistic environmental conditions.

     Outdoor pro: Realistic conditions.

     Outdoor con: Many variables.

5.  What is the independent variable to be tested in this experiment?  

     How much rain falls.

6.  What is the dependent variable to be measured in this experiment?

     Water absorbed.

7.  A controlled experiment such as this one always has an experimental groupand a control group.  What is the difference between the two?

     The control group... The control group is not affected by the experiment and is there for

                                        comparison purposes.

     The experimental group... The experimental group is affected by the experiment.

Application Questions:

(After watching episode)

8.  The goal of a controlled experiment is to only alter the variable that is to be tested, leaving all others constant.  What variables do the Mythbusters account for in their experimental design?

     - Wind

     - Walking/running speed

     - Clothing weight

     - Consistency

     - Sweat

9.   How was the experiment that the two meteorologists designed different than that of the Mythbusters?

     The meteorologists' experiment was less of a "controlled" one since they conducted theirs  outdoors under real weather conditions whereas the Mythbusters set up a controlled environment indoors.

10.  Adam and Jamie each did 4 trials: walking without wind, running without wind, walking with wind, and running with wind.  Do you think this is enough data?  Explain how sample size can affect the outcome of an experiment.

       I believe four trials composes enough data to prove that walking in the rain would actually get you less wet than running. Many valid scenarios were covered in their experiment and both Adam and Jamie conducted their runs twice to ensure consistency. Sample sizes can affect the outcome of the experiment because the lager the sample size, the more data is collected, and the more data collected, the more accurate the experiment.

11.  This is the data table based on the Mythbusters’ results. Calculate the amount of water absorbed in each trial, and the water absorbed per second for each trial.

12.  Calculate the average amount of water absorbed in the running and walking trials:

        Avg. Water Absorbed (Running) = 5.695 g/s

       

        Avg. Water Absorbed (Walking) = 1.745 g/s

14.  Finally, generate a bar graph based on the average water absorbed running and walking.

  

15/16.   Give one advantage and one disadvantage of displaying your data in a scatterplot & bar graph.

        Scatter:

        Advantage - Accurate display of all data

        Disadvantage - Difficult to compare data/see trends

        Bar:

        Advantage - Information easily comparable

        Disadvantage - Difficult to see data clearly

17.  What conclusion did the Mythbusters make as a result of this experiment?  Did their conclusion agree or disagree with that of the two meteorologists?  Which do you think is a more accurate conclusion? Explain your choice.

       The Mythbusters made the conclusion that by walking in the rain, you absorb much less water than by running. Their conclusion strongly disagreed with that of the two meteorologists. I believe the Mythbusters' conclusion is more accurate because of their testing in a controlled environment resulting in much less bias data collected and analysed.