Homeostasis
Information
This project focused on exploring a system of homeostasis. Before even beginning our lab we had to review the scientific method and decide which system of homeostasis we would explore. My group decided to work on finding homeostasis of breathing rate. Then, we worked on research and our graphic organizer. After putting all the basic data into the graphic organizer, we ran experiments to test our hypothesis. We then logged our results and started working on the write-up. The write-up was the most important part of the project. It shared and explained our results. Finally, we put all of our information onto a poster to put in the hallways of the science building.
Content
Homeostasis
The internal balance of conditions in a system. In our project, we analyzed how homeostasis occurs in breathing rate.
Independent Variable
The variable that is changed or manipulated. In our case, the amount of physical exertion.
Dependent Variable
The variable that is measured as a result of the independent variable. Our dependant variable was breaths per minute.
Constants
The things that are the same throughout all the runs. Our constants were the running distance and intervals between measuring breathing rate.
Control Run
The control run is the baseline that we compare our results with. Our control run was the resting breathing rate.
Experimental Run
The experimental runs are the trials or runs where things were changed. These were all the other trials except the resting breathing rate ones.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a statement that describes an idea that can be tested. Our hypothesis was that breathing rate would increase if we exercised for two minutes and would return back to its resting rate two minutes after exercising
Abstract
The abstract is a paragraph that explains the overall claim, experiment, evidence, and analysis. An abstract was included in our write-up.
Introduction
The introduction provides background information and states the hypothesis. We had an introduction in our write-up.
Materials and Methods
The materials and methods section of the write-up explained our procedure and what supplies were needed to do the experiment.
Results
The results section of our write-up showed the data we had gathered from our experiments. Both in sentence form and with graphs.
Discussion and Conclusion
This section of our write-up explained the significance of our data, what went well, what didn't go well, if there were any errors, and if any additional tests should be run.
Works Cited
The works cited section of our write-up cited where we got information from.
Reflection
I was a good conscientious learner in this project. I used my time very effectively in order to complete the project on time. I got to work as soon as we got into class and continued to be on task throughout the entire class. I also was a good collaborator for this project. Although I was gone for half of the project, I took responsibility for the project and continued to work on it outside of class. During the time I was gone, I was able to complete the majority of the write-up, leaving my group to only revise and complete the little remaining amount. On the other hand, I did not do very well as a communicator. The primary obstacle causing the lack of communication was my absence. However, I still could've tried reaching out in other ways but I never did. Next time, I plan to ensure I reach out to my group if I am absent so we are on the same page. I also could work on my critical thinking. One important aspect of critical thinking is validating sources for reliability and bias. However, I did not do that and it is evident. One of our sources was Wikipedia which is known to not contain the most reliable information due to anybody being able to edit pages. Next time, I will ensure reliable sources are being used.