Transcript METHODS and MATERIALS

METHODS and MATERIALS
Your Second Draft
YOUR SECOND DRAFT
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Two copies
Teacher edited first draft
Logbook
Second Draft Checklist
Includes: Title page, Background info with
introductory paragraph (thesis, purpose,
eye-catcher), research, and summary
paragraph (hypothesis), materials and
methods, and Works Cited page.
Eight Weeks
That is what time is left from today until
your final paper is due.
If you are growing plants, get started!!!
Take pictures of your project as time
progresses – you can use them on
January’s display board.
Materials and Methods
 Step listings are not acceptable – must be in
paragraph form.
 Someone should be able to read your procedure
and replicate it exactly. If it cannot be replicated
exactly, you need more detail.
 Include a precise description of the sample.
 Include any apparatus that was constructed or
modified for the study - put extended and detailed
explanation in the appendix. List them as
Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.
Materials and Methods
Describe in detail the procedure used to
derive your data and observations in
PARAGRAPH form.
Should be in PAST tense.
Should be in PASSIVE voice
- YES: The water was added to the plant
in 10.0 mL increments.
- NO: I added 10.0 mL of water to the
plant.
Materials and Methods
Include brand names
Use METRIC measurements
How are you collecting your data and
WHAT are you collecting?
Integrate the materials into the procedure.
Do not list them separately.
Materials and Methods
What is your control?
Need a sufficient number of trials
No first or second person. No need to say
“the researcher”.
Leave no gap after the background
summary paragraph.
EXAMPLE - TOMATOES
Three types of tomatoes were used. The first
consisted of ten small Albertsons® market fresh red ripe
plum tomatoes. The second type consisted of ten small
plum tomatoes obtained each from ten cans of Hunts All
Natural Peeled California Whole Tomatoes®. The third
type consisted of ten red small roma tomatoes each from
ten cans of Progresso Italian Tomatoes®. Each of the
thirty samples were placed in a Krups Mini Food
Processor® on puree for fifteen seconds. There was no
need to strain the resulting liquid because colorimetric
methods were not used.
EXAMPLE - TOMATOES
A pH probe and Voltage Plotter III® software
designed by Vernier® Software were used and the
software was run on an Apple IIg® computer. The pH
probe measures pH by relating it to the potential
developed between two electrodes when immersed in a
solution (Vernier 1). Strong acids are electrolytes
meaning they contain ions in solution and electrolytes
conduct electric currents (Gould 271). The voltage
recorded by the probe is a measure of the hydrogen ion
activity (Vernier 1). A pH change of 1.0 unit equals a
constant change in voltage (Gould 271). The computer
converts the voltage reading to a pH value (Gould 271).
EXAMPLE - TOMATOES
The pH probe was calibrated using standard buffers
of 4.0 and 7.0 using the calibration built into the software.
See Appendix A for more details. Each sample consisted
of 75.0mL, was transferred to a 400mL Pyrex® measuring
cup and each pH reading was performed for 30 seconds.
The probe was held in each sample for 30 seconds prior to
the first recorded value to insure a more stable reading. A
rinsing of the pH probe and measuring cup in Albertsons®
Distilled Water followed each sample run to insure that no
tomato puree was left on the apparatus or in the cup. One
value was recorded for each sample. All calculations were
performed using the software Microsoft Excel® run on a
MacIntosh Plus® computer.
EXAMPLE OF APPENDIX
Appendix A
Calibration of the pH probe
Using the calibration built into the software,
1.81 volts was assigned to a pH of 7.0 when the
probe was held in the 7.0 buffer solution. A pH
of 4.0 was given to 2.61 volts when the probe
was held in the 4.0 buffer solution. When a test
was run using a 7.0 standard solution, the
resulting pH was 7.14 +/-0.01. When a second
test was run using the 4.0 pH standard solution,
the resulting pH was 4.14+/-0.02.
WHAT I WILL LOOK FOR
Methods and Materials
 _____ includes a control
 _____ Independent variables are limited
 _____ can be replicated exactly
 _____ written in layman’s terms
 _____ materials: name brand and amount
 _____ sufficient number of trials
 _____ in paragraph form
 _____ Method used to collect data is listed
 _____ metric only
 _____ past tense, passive voice
DUE WEDNESDAY
Be sure to make edits from first draft
See your English teacher for a thesis
revision.
Fix your works cited page!
Turn in: second draft (two copies), teacher
edited first draft, second draft checklist,
and your logbook.
PROBLEMS WITH PROJECT PLAN
Started sentences with non-spelled out
numbers.
No passive voice
No past tense
Used first or second person
Missing lots of brand names
Not enough detail.
“Steps C through G were repeated”