Question

situations: read the situation below and design an experiment.
jane smith has been hired by the city of pismo beach to investigate the source of water pollution that
is leading to the death of many of the famous pismo clams. the clams have been dying in record
numbers recently, particularly around the deltas and river mouths leading to the ocean. she has a
budget of $40,000, a full environmental lab, and three graduate student assistants to help her. a
helicopter has also been donated by a local television station, should she need one.

1. list 2 hypotheses jane and her crew may have come up with for the recent clam deaths. (2 pts)

a. if then ________
b. if ______, then ______

Explanation:

1. Hypothesis a

To form a hypothesis, we consider a potential cause (pollution source) and its effect (clam deaths). Industrial waste discharge near river mouths is a common pollution source. So we hypothesize that if industrial waste is discharged near the river mouths, it will contaminate the water and cause Pismo clams to die.

Another potential pollution source could be agricultural runoff (containing pesticides/fertilizers) entering via river mouths. We link this cause to the effect of clam deaths. So we hypothesize that if agricultural runoff (with pesticides/fertilizers) enters the ocean via river mouths, then the Pismo clams in those areas will die due to water pollution from the runoff.

Answer:

If industrial waste is discharged near the river mouths, then the Pismo clams in the area will die due to water pollution.

2. Hypothesis b