A group of students want to see if they can make an electromagnet that shows evidence of an electrical/magnetic field. They find a picture in a science book of how to make an electromagnet. First, they gather a battery, some copper wire, and a nail. They wrap the wire around the nail and attach the ends of the wire to the battery. They find a bunch of stuff in a desk: paperclips, erasers, stick pins, and so on. They put the electromagnet near each object and see what happens. Some objects move, and some don’t. How will you evaluate the experimental design? What should you do first?
Remember that you are trying to decide whether the experiment provides evidence of magnetic/electrical fields. Would you “Yes, the experiment would provide evidence of magnetic/electrical fields? Or would you “No, the experiment would not provide evidence of magnetic/electrical fields.”
Next, you are looking for any area(s) where the plan could be modified to better meet its goal. Evaluate all the areas of the experimental design:
Hypothesis: What is the hypothesis of the experiment? Decide if the experiment is able to test the hypothesis. If so, how?
Materials: What are the materials listed in the experiment? Could the description of materials needed be improved? How?
Methods: What are the methods listed in the experiment? Could the directions be improved? How?