Credits
Kirk
Boraas developed this lesson.
Goals
Students
will explore a variety of relevant lake water chemistry questions,
compose responses,
and present their results in a poster format.
Introduction
This lesson
introduces students to WOW. Students review factors that can affect scientific
research and conduct research using WOW data. They prepare a scientific
poster.
Students can
meet the goals for this lesson by completing a directed study or a student
inquiry lesson.
In the directed
study lesson students are assigned a research question. They use WOW data
and other sources to answer the question. The final product is a scientific
poster. Students need to print directions for the poster, and it is helpful
if they have a printed reference of factors that can affect scientific
research.
The directed
study lesson is found in the student section of WOW under the title: "Studying Data Interpretation."
The student
inquiry lesson asks students to devise their own research question and
develop a final presentation of data. The final product is a scientific
poster. Students need to print directions for the poster, and it is
helpful if they have a print directions for the lesson.
The student
inquiry lesson is found in the student section of WOW under the title: "Investigating Data Interpretation."
Outcomes
Students will:
- Analyze
data gathered by the RUSS unit.
- Identify
critical variables required to respond to their research question.
- Sort, scale,
and graph data in an Excel spreadsheet.
- Visually
display data to emphasize relevant trends and patterns.
- Differentiate
between recognizable data patterns and outlying data.
- Suggest
explanations for recognizable data patterns and outlying data.
- Present
their findings in a clear, concise, and professional fashion.
Keywords
Outliers
Prerequisites
Students
need a basic familiarity with the following topics: photosynthesis
and respiration,
lake water pH
and the carbonate ion
buffer,
lake water conductivity
measurements, lake water temperature profiles
(stratification),
turbidity,
dissolved
oxygen, the watershed
and its effects on lake water parameters, and effects of weather on
lake water data.
Materials/Resources/Software
Students need
computer access to complete the assignment.
Time Required
2-3 class
periods
Curriculum
Connections
Connections
depend on the research question investigated by students.
WOW Curriculum
Connections
This lesson
can be linked to all WOW lessons.
Procedure
Students can meet the goals for this lesson
plan by completing a directed study or an inquiry lesson. Students
may want the directions for their lessons printed.
The directed study lesson is found in
the student section of WOW under the title: "Studying
Data Interpretation."
The inquiry lesson is found in the student
section of WOW under the title: "Investigating
Data Interpretation."
Knowledge
Base
Many student
experiments are designed to demonstrate a particular principle discussed
in lecture. All of the exercises should work since they have been tested
prior to students arrival in the laboratory. This isn't how scientific
research is performed.
Researchers
begin with observations and questions that lead them to a hypothesis.
An experiment is then performed, and the results confirm the hypothesis
or provide reason for change. Sometimes experimental results point the
researcher in completely new directions.
Experimental
results and the researcher's interpretation of them are crucial to the
development of new ideas, hypotheses, explanations, and theories. A
researcher's ability to interpret data can be both a learned skill and
a gift. Although some individuals are better at data interpretation
than others, practice sharpens observation and interpretive skills and
leads to a more complete analysis of the data.
Directed Study
Ask students
to brainstorm how scientific research might differ from laboratory exercises.
Student Inquiry
Begin by
asking students to review what they know and what they would like to
know about water quality. Refer them to the WOW data visualization tools
as aids in their reflection about water quality relationships. The
Profile Plotter may be especially useful in helping students see
possible relationships among water quality parameters.
Initially,
students should focus on no more than two variables. Ask students to
record their thoughts, impressions, and ideas on paper and review and
revise them periodically. Students should consider relationships among
data and think about relationships among the data and other external
environmental factors, such as rain, wind, sunlight, etc. They should
use their reflections to form a hypothesis.
Experimental
Design
Directed Study
Divide students
into groups of two. Provide each team with a lake water research question.
Possible Research
Questions:
- What water
depth is most affected by sunlight? Why?
- How does
thermal stratification change throughout the summer months? Why?
- At what
depth does biological activity seem to be most significant? Why?
- Which lake
exhibits greater biological activity? Why?
- During
what time of the year is biological activity at a maximum? Why?
- Are daily
pH and dissolved oxygen levels related to one another? Why?
- Where in
the lake are the largest daily pH swings observed? Why?
- What depth
exhibits the greatest daily changes in dissolved oxygen? Why?
- Is there
a relationship between daily water temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels?
Why?
- How does
dissolved oxygen depend on depth? Why?
- How does
lake water temperature depend on depth? Why?
- Can the
effects of storm activity be identified within the RUSS data? How?
- Is there
a relationship between conductivity and pH? Explain.
- Are there
seasonal patterns in turbidity? Explain.
- Does the
relationship between a lakes acreage and its watershed's
acreage affect turbidity? Explain.
- Is there a relationship between cooling days (or degree days) and
the onset of stratification in a lake?
Student Inquiry
Students should
write a procedural plan for testing their hypothesis using WOW data.
The plan should identify the data needed and specify which WOW lake or
lakes
will be used for data collection. Students should be ready to explain
the rationale for decisions about experimental design.
Data Collection
Directed Study
After students
are partnered and given a research question, they should access the WOW
site and download the required data in Excel format.
Other resources
available to students include class notes, handouts, books in the library,
and the Internet. Additional resources are available on the WOW site.
Students should clearly reference any resources used in their final
presentation.
Student Inquiry
Review students research questions. Remind students
that their experimental design should include detailed instructions for
other researchers who might want to
examine the same data and check their results. Students should access
the WOW site and download the required data in Excel format.
Other resources
available to students include class notes, handouts, books in the library,
and the internet. Additional resources are available on the WOW site.
Students should clearly reference any resources used in their final presentation.
Data Management
and Analysis
Directed Study
and Student Inquiry
Students should
use WOW data to answer their research question. Remind students to title
all of their graphs and label axes and legends. Before students begin
to analyze their data, discuss factors that play a critical role in scientific
research.
All experimental
data consist of measurements that have one, rightmost uncertain digit.
Although the RUSS unit is a sophisticated robot, it is still only a
measurement tool. Students should consider how much they believe each
of the digits in any measurement.
Sometimes,
data are found that defy the observed pattern. These are known as data
outliers. Rather than dismiss them as unimportant, students should try
to determine their cause. (e.g.: Is the probe working properly?) Sometimes
outliers lead to new and interesting interpretations of the data. Were
there any outliers in the data collected? Students should be prepared
to explain how they handled outliers in their data analysis.
Endless
tables of numbers can be difficult to understand. A better method is
to present the data in a visual or graphical format (i.e.: Excel). Graphs
don't have to display the origin. Often subtle and important variations
are only observable if the graph axes are modified to expand the data
in question (see Figure below).

Also, students
should take advantage of Excel's multiple graphing ability (see Figure
below). It can be very useful to display more than one graph at a time
in order to determine relationships between sets of data.

Interpretation
of Results
Directed Study
and Student Inquiry
Students should
consider the following questions as they prepare for the final presentation.
- Was data collected
by RUSS possibly affected by external factors?
- Is there sufficient
data to answer the research question ?
- What is the
best way to display the data?
- Are there
additional experiments to conduct?
- Did students
find any outliers? How can the outliers be explained?
- Are there
unanswered questions?
- Is there a
new research question?
Reporting
Results
Directed Study
and Student Inquiry
Posters are
frequently used to display ongoing research and experimental results.
At scientific conferences, researchers gather in large auditoriums to
display their own work as well as examine the work of others. As individuals
circulate throughout the exhibits, they strike up conversations and exchange
ideas.
Students
will display the results of their WOW data analysis on a poster (see
Figure below). The lengths of various sections will vary from one
group
to the next. Each poster will consist of no more than six 8.5" x 11" pieces
of paper glued to tag board (2 rows, 3 columns). Individual pages are
arranged to be read from left to right.

All posters
must contain the following, clearly labeled sections:
- Title - An adaptation of the assigned research question.
- Authors - Names (both partners)
- Introduction - Introduce the research question, the
data analyzed, and the analysis plan.
- Results and
Discussion - Display only necessary data. Data presented
must be discussed in the text. Discuss data trends, correlations,
and
outliers.
- Conclusions - Summarize the data analysis and compose
the answer to the research question. Are there additional experiments
to conduct?
Are there unanswered
questions?
Formatting
notes:
Text:
All text must
be in 24 point font except section titles that appear in 36 point font.
Lines should be double spaced with 0.5" margins (top/bottom/left/right).
Left justify all text. Use the spelling and grammar checker. Hand written
notes and comments are not allowed.
Graphs:
All graphs
must be clearly labeled. Use these labels when referring to graphs in
text (Example: Figure 1, Figure 2). Graph axis titles must be included
and correctly positioned. Hand written notes and comments are unacceptable.
Tables:
Data tables
must be properly titled. Columns and rows should be correctly labeled.
Hand written notes and comments are unacceptable.
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