A scientist was studying the effects of oil contamination on ocean seaweed. He believed that oil runoff from storm drains would keep seaweed from growing normally. He had two large aquarium tanks of equal size. He kept the amount of dissolved oxygen and the water temperature the same in each tank. He added some motor oil to one tank but not to the other. He then measured the growth of seaweed plants in each tank. In the tank with no oil, the average growth was 2.57cm/day. The average growth of the seaweed in the tank with oil was 2.37cm/day. Based on this experiment, answer the following questions: What was the question that the scientist started with?
What was his hypothesis?
Identify the independent variable.
Identify the dependent variable.
Identify the control(s).
What did the data show
Can he be certain of his conclusion? How can he make his conclusion firmer?