u02d2 Cause and Effect

Subject: u02d2 Cause and Effect Tue Jul 20, 2010 1:53 pm

u02d2 Cause and Effect

In our daily lives, we often conduct little experiments to detect
cause-and-effect connections. If you are interested in gardening, for
example, you might try adding plant food to one bed of flowers but not
another and then ask the question: Does the use of plant food (the
independent variable) affect the size of the flowers (the dependent
variable)? By comparing unfed plants (the control group) to those
receiving plant food (the experimental group), you could then find out
if plant food is worth using. Think of at least two different informal
experiments you've conducted in the last few months, or consider a couple of experiments you would like to conduct. What is the hypothesis? What were the independent and dependent variables? Were any important extraneous variables controlled—if so, how? If not, how would you control for the extraneous variables? What was the outcome of the experiment? Are the conclusions warranted—why, or why not?

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Subject: Re: u02d2 Cause and Effect Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:07 pm

Hello Dr Alicia,

The only experiments I have conducted recently
was " The Love Experiment " for my youngest daughter Jessica who brought
home 2 flowers for me from her kindergarten class at school a few
months back, as a present. Well, she believed that everything can and
would grow stronger with love. Meaning, if I talked to her plants, like
her teacher does, that we would have the healthiest, fastest growing
flowers in her class. I wasn’t exactly sure if I really believed that
talking to plants could make them grow faster ( the hypothesis ) , as I
have never really had a green thumb, so to speak. But, for my daughter, I
figured I would give it a try. So, I took both the potted flowers
placing one in the experimental group and the other in the control
group. Both flowers received the same amount of water and sunlight
regularly. While the first flower (in the experimental group) was talked
to multiple times a day, being told how beautiful it was, and given
excessive attention ( Independent variable ). The other flower was
ignored verbally and received no special treatment. After over a two
week time frame, I had noticed both flowers had grown substantially
well, either way ( the dependent variable ). Proving to me that, " the
love experiment " or talking to plants had little to no effect on the
flowers growth patterns. Which of course upset my daughter of her
disillusioned theory. But after conducting further research online
afterward, I realized, I would have had to talk to the one flower very
closely for over 7 hours a day for it to really show any effect or
change due to the extra infusions of CO2 it would need. I think the
conclusion was warranted given the specifications needed to see any kind
of positive results due to the time needed and attention for the
experiment to have been even remotely successful. I do not believe there
were any extraneous variables in this experiment.

The second
experiment I conducted yesterday. It was merely an observational
experiment I conducted on my neighbor Melina. My neighbor Melina suffers
from OCD, she is a compulsive neat freak, as she calls herself. So I
decided to try and see what her reaction would be when I invited her
over. (My hypothesis being, could Melina with her OCD be comfortable
around my messy kitchen ) I invited her over for coffee in the morning
just to chat randomly and catch up on the neighborhood watch we are both
members of, my house was spotless at the time and we chatted for about
an hour and then she left to run some errands. I then called her back
and invited her over again some time after lunch, to try the cherry pie I
had just baked. I had purposely left the kitchen a mess, with dishes in
the sink, the counters covered in flour and used baking utensils. I had
noticed right away, she was slightly uncomfortable while I served the
pie and tea and sat with her at the kitchen table, ignoring the messy
kitchen behind me ( the independent variable ). We began to eat and chat
and I kept noticing her looking over my shoulder every few moments at
the messy counters as she quickly began to eat her pie. Within 2
minutes, she was up and placing her plate in the sink, still chatting
away as she began doing my dishes( the dependent variable). Well, she
continued to clean all my dishes and counters even though I had told her
not to worry , that I would get the mess cleaned afterward. I’m not
really even sure if she realized what she was doing as she continued
cleaning while talking about the extreme haircut her daughter had given
herself last night with a pair of scissors. I just couldn’t help but
smile as she sat back down and I thanked her for the quick kitchen fix
and asked her if she would like some whipped cream on her second slice
of pie as I refilled her tea cup. This experiment has proved to me that
Melina could not simply relax and enjoy some pie and conversation
without letting her obsessive need for neatness get the best of her. I
found the conclusion warranted because it helped me to identify just how
hard it must be for my neighbor to deal with her OCD. I also do not
believe there where any extraneous variables in this experiment either.

~ Vanessa

Subject: Re: u02d2 Cause and Effect Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:19 am

submitted and graded 100% u02d2 Cause and Effect 517327