Cat+Experiment+Scientific+Method

__Scientific Method/Cats __ (Don’t write anything that is in parenthesis. Apply the concepts related to scientific inquiry found in your textbook.) (Write and complete the numbered items. The numbered items answer the question above them.)
 * [[image:CatExpPicPart1.png width="232" height="106"]] ||  || [[image:CatExpPart2Blank.png width="258" height="110"]] ||   || [[image:CatExpPart3Blank.png width="249" height="107"]] ||

(A pet owner had his four cats boarded while he travels. The cats seemed healthy when they arrived, but a technician notices that two of the cats start scratching and chewing at their skin. After three days, these same two cats have bare patches of skin with red sores. The technician knows that cat's sometimes change their behavior when moved to a new place, so she watches all four cats for two days. Other than the scratching and chewing by the cats with sores, the behavior of all four cats seems the same. The technician called the owner and found out that he fed the cats the same food as she did.

While observing the cats, the technician also noticed that the cats scratched most after using the litter box. She called the owner and asked what brand of litter he put in the cat's litter box. The owner used a different brand than she did, so she compared the ingredients of the two kinds of litter. The difference was that the owners litter was deodorant free, while the brand she used had a deodorant. Based on this information the technician formed a hypothesis.

The technician got the cat’s owner’s permission to test her hypothesis. One cat was used as a control and the other cat experienced the manipulated variable. The technician observes the cats for one week. During this time she collects data. The data show that the control cat scratches and chews more often than the experimental cat does. The sores on the skin of the experimental cat begin to heal, but those on the control cat do not. The technician then switched the litter of the control and experimental cat to test her findings.

The technician knows that cat's sometimes change their behavior when moved to a new place, so she watches all four cats for two days. Other than the scratching and chewing by the cats with sores, the behavior of all four cats seems the same. The technician called the owner and found out that he fed the cats the same food as she did.

While observing the cats, the technician also noticed that the cats scratched most after using the litter box. She called the owner and asked what brand of litter he put in the cat's litter box. The owner used a different brand than she did, so she compared the ingredients of the two kinds of litter. The difference was that the owners litter was deodorant free, while the brand she used had a deodorant.

The technician gets the owner’s permission to test her hypothesis on the cats. The cat using litter with deodorant would be the control used for comparison. The cat just being given deodorant-free litter would be the experimented on subject. The technician observes the cats for one week. During this time she collects data. The data show that the control cat scratches and chews more often than the experimental cat does. The sores on the skin of the experimental cat begin to heal, but those on the control cat do not.)

 Key Terms:

 A hypothesis is an explanation that can be tested. An experiment tests a hypothesis.

Controlled variables are the things that are kept the same in an experiment.

 A control is the standard to which the outcome of a test is compared.

 A manipulated variable is something in an experiment that the experimenter changes. (An experiment should have only one)

 A responding variable is something in an experiment that changes because of the manipulated variable.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> A conclusion is a statement explaining if the evidence from the experiment supports the hypothesis or not.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(Use the information in the reading to complete the 10 statements below or answer the questions.)

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What is the problem?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">1. The problem is…

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What three pieces of information were gathered?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">2. Information was gather on ……, ……, and …….

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What hypothesis should the technician form?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">3. The ……in the litter is causing….

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(How would you test the hypothesis?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">4. One cat would be left using litter containing deodorant, while the other cat would be given….

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What “control” could you include in this testing of the hypothesis?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">5. A control for this experiment would be the cat ….

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What is the manipulated variable in this experiment?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">6. The manipulated variable is….

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What is the responding variable in this experiment?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">7. The responding variable is…

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What data should be collected in this experiment?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">8. The data that should be collected is….

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(What conclusion can be drawn from this data?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">9. The deodorant appears to be…

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(How could the technician be double sure of her conclusion?) <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">10. The litter of the control cat.....

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Birds and Cats http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/moral-cost-of-cats-180960505/