Question

4 - microwave miracle
patrick believes that fish that eat food exposed to microwaves will become smarter and would be able to swim through a maze faster. he decides to perform an experiment by placing fish food in a microwave for 20 seconds. he has the fish swim through a maze and records the time it takes for each one to make it to the end. he feeds the special food to 10 fish and gives regular food to 10 others. after 1 week, he has the fish swim through the maze again and records the times for each.
what was patricks hypothesis?
which fish are in the control group?
what is the independent variable?
what is the dependent variable?
look at the results in the charts. what should patricks conclusion be?

Explanation:

1. A hypothesis is an educated - guess. Patrick thought fish eating microwave - exposed food would be smarter and swim faster.
2. The control group is not exposed to the independent variable. Here, fish eating regular food are in the control group.
3. The independent variable is what is changed in an experiment. The type of food (microwave - exposed or regular) is changed.
4. The dependent variable is what is measured. The time it takes for fish to swim through the maze is measured.
5. By looking at the data, the special food group doesn't consistently show faster times. So, the conclusion should be that there is no evidence that microwave - exposed food makes fish swim through the maze faster.

Answer:

1. Patrick's hypothesis: Fish that eat food exposed to microwaves will become smarter and swim through a maze faster.
2. Control group: The 10 fish that eat regular food.
3. Independent variable: The type of food (microwave - exposed or regular).
4. Dependent variable: The time it takes for the fish to swim through the maze.
5. Conclusion: There is no evidence that fish that eat food exposed to microwaves swim through the maze faster.