Deep Sea Scientific Method Practice
Summer School 2015
SpongeBob and his Bikini Bottom pals have been busy doing a little research. Read the
description for each experiment and answer the questions.
1 - Patty Power
Mr. Krabbs wants to make Bikini Bottoms a nicer place to live. He has created a new sauce that he
thinks will reduce the production of body gas associated with eating crabby patties from the Krusty
Krab. He recruits 100 customers with a history of gas problems. He has 50 of them (Group A) eat
crabby patties with the new sauce. The other 50 (Group B) eat crabby patties with sauce that looks just
like new sauce but is really just mixture of mayonnaise and food coloring. Both groups were told that
they were getting the sauce that would reduce gas production. Two hours after eating the crabby
patties, 30 customers in group A reported having fewer gas problems and 8 customers in group B
reported having fewer gas problems.
Which people are in the control group?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Mr. Krabs’ conclusion be?
Why do you think 8 people in group B reported feeling better?
2 – Slimotosis
Sponge Bob notices that his pal Gary is suffering from slimotosis, which occurs when the shell
develops a nasty slime and gives off a horrible odor. His friend Patrick tells him that rubbing seaweed
on the shell is the perfect cure, while Sandy says that drinking Dr. Kelp will be a better cure. Sponge
Bob decides to test this cure by rubbing Gary with seaweed for 1 week and having him drink Dr. Kelp.
After a week of treatment, the slime is gone and Gary’s shell smells better.
What was the initial observation?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be?
3 – Marshmallow Muscles
Larry was told that a certain muscle cream was the newest best thing on the market and claims to
double a person’s muscle power when used as part of a muscle-building workout. Interested in this
product, he buys the special muscle cream and recruits Patrick and SpongeBob to help him with an
experiment. Larry develops a special marshmallow weight-lifting program for Patrick and SpongeBob.
He meets with them once every day for a period of 2 weeks and keeps track of their results. Before
each session Patrick’s arms and back are lathered in the muscle cream, while Sponge Bob’s arms and
back are lathered with the regular lotion.
Time Patrick SpongeBob
Initial Amount 18 5
After 1
week 24 9
After 2
weeks 33 17
Which person is in the control group?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Larry’s conclusion be?
4. Flower Power
SpongeBob loves to garden and wants to grow lots of pink flowers for his pal Sandy. He bought a
special Flower Power fertilizer to see if will help plants produce more flowers. He plants two plants of
the same size in separate containers with the same amount of potting soil. He places one plant in a sunny
window and waters it every day with fertilized water. He places the other plant on a shelf in a closet and
waters it with plain water every other day.
What did SpongeBob do wrong in this experiment? Explain.
What should SpongeBob do to test the effectiveness of Flower Power fertilizer? Write an experiment.
Questions created by T. Trimpe 2003 http://sciencespot.net/
description for each experiment and answer the questions.
1 - Patty Power
Mr. Krabbs wants to make Bikini Bottoms a nicer place to live. He has created a new sauce that he
thinks will reduce the production of body gas associated with eating crabby patties from the Krusty
Krab. He recruits 100 customers with a history of gas problems. He has 50 of them (Group A) eat
crabby patties with the new sauce. The other 50 (Group B) eat crabby patties with sauce that looks just
like new sauce but is really just mixture of mayonnaise and food coloring. Both groups were told that
they were getting the sauce that would reduce gas production. Two hours after eating the crabby
patties, 30 customers in group A reported having fewer gas problems and 8 customers in group B
reported having fewer gas problems.
Which people are in the control group?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Mr. Krabs’ conclusion be?
Why do you think 8 people in group B reported feeling better?
2 – Slimotosis
Sponge Bob notices that his pal Gary is suffering from slimotosis, which occurs when the shell
develops a nasty slime and gives off a horrible odor. His friend Patrick tells him that rubbing seaweed
on the shell is the perfect cure, while Sandy says that drinking Dr. Kelp will be a better cure. Sponge
Bob decides to test this cure by rubbing Gary with seaweed for 1 week and having him drink Dr. Kelp.
After a week of treatment, the slime is gone and Gary’s shell smells better.
What was the initial observation?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be?
3 – Marshmallow Muscles
Larry was told that a certain muscle cream was the newest best thing on the market and claims to
double a person’s muscle power when used as part of a muscle-building workout. Interested in this
product, he buys the special muscle cream and recruits Patrick and SpongeBob to help him with an
experiment. Larry develops a special marshmallow weight-lifting program for Patrick and SpongeBob.
He meets with them once every day for a period of 2 weeks and keeps track of their results. Before
each session Patrick’s arms and back are lathered in the muscle cream, while Sponge Bob’s arms and
back are lathered with the regular lotion.
Time Patrick SpongeBob
Initial Amount 18 5
After 1
week 24 9
After 2
weeks 33 17
Which person is in the control group?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What should Larry’s conclusion be?
4. Flower Power
SpongeBob loves to garden and wants to grow lots of pink flowers for his pal Sandy. He bought a
special Flower Power fertilizer to see if will help plants produce more flowers. He plants two plants of
the same size in separate containers with the same amount of potting soil. He places one plant in a sunny
window and waters it every day with fertilized water. He places the other plant on a shelf in a closet and
waters it with plain water every other day.
What did SpongeBob do wrong in this experiment? Explain.
What should SpongeBob do to test the effectiveness of Flower Power fertilizer? Write an experiment.
Questions created by T. Trimpe 2003 http://sciencespot.net/
Circulatory System Review:
Be able to explain each of the following details:
1. The difference between ARTERIES, VEINS, and capillaries. ex. What "kind" of blood does each cary, size, etc.
2. What happens in the LUNGS? Be able to describe specifically which gasses come in and out and how they affect the blood.
3. Be able to tract the flow of blood from the time it enters the heart (what area) until the time it leaves to go back into the body. Know the different parts of the heart (Atrium/ Ventricles) and what each part does.
4. What happens in the capillaries? Where are they found in the body and what makes these areas important.
5. Be able to describe the difference between OXYGENATED and DEOXYGENATED blood and where each type is commonly found (arteries/veins).
Be able to explain each of the following details:
1. The difference between ARTERIES, VEINS, and capillaries. ex. What "kind" of blood does each cary, size, etc.
2. What happens in the LUNGS? Be able to describe specifically which gasses come in and out and how they affect the blood.
3. Be able to tract the flow of blood from the time it enters the heart (what area) until the time it leaves to go back into the body. Know the different parts of the heart (Atrium/ Ventricles) and what each part does.
4. What happens in the capillaries? Where are they found in the body and what makes these areas important.
5. Be able to describe the difference between OXYGENATED and DEOXYGENATED blood and where each type is commonly found (arteries/veins).
Making Inferences:
What do you think is happening here: Make Three Observations and an Inference to go with each photo!
1.Create a document in Google Drive called "Sponge Science"--I will show you how to share this document with me later.
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2. Copy the questions from below into the Rebel-Net document and do your best to answer the questions completely. |