Scientific Report Essay Example

the first trial the pillbug was exposed to cornstarch.

The second trial the pillbug was exposed to sand. The third trial the pillbug was exposed to both substances. The fourth trial the substances were switched to opposite sides and the pillbug was exposed to both. The final trial the pillbug was exposed to cornstarch.

Trial One 8:46am-8:47am The pillbug was exposed to cornstarch. The pillbug walked through the cornstarch and spent 15 seconds in the cornstarch and the remainder of the time away from the cornstarch. Trial Two 8:50am-8:51amThe pillbug was exposed to sand. The pillbug went to the sand and spent 30 seconds on the sand. The pillbug had sand on the two large antennas. The pillbug spent the remainder of the time away from the sand.

Trial Three 8:53am-8:54am The pillbug was exposed to both substances. Initially the pillbug went to the cornstarch and stayed in the cornstarch for 10 seconds. After leaving the cornstarch the pillbug stayed in a neutral position for 15 seconds. Finally, the pillbug spent the remainder of the time in the sand. (35 seconds) Trial Four 8:57am-8:58am. Substances were placed on opposite sides; the sand was on the right and the cornstarch on the left.

The pillbug was exposed to both substances; the pillbug went immediately to the right spending 45 seconds on the sand. The rest of the time the pillbug was walking within the crate trying to crawl up the sides of the crate, not recognizing either substance. Trial Five 9:00am-9:01am In the final trial the pillbug was exposed to cornstarch. The pillbug spent 6 seconds on the cornstarch and for the remainder of the time the pillbug was trying

to climb out of the crate.The pillbug spent a total five minutes (not including neutral times) within the crate. Within the five minutes the pillbug spent a total of thirty one seconds in cornstarch and one minute fifty five seconds in sand.

The remainder of the time the pillbug was in a neutral location away from either substance. The experiment did not support our hypothesis. The data collected showed that the pillbug did not repel from the sand, it actually preferred the sand in comparison to the cornstarch. There could be numerous reasons why they pillbug was more attracted to the sand vs. he cornstarch.

The background information stated that pillbugs prefer moist areas, and the cornstarch was a very thick dry substance. Although, the sand was also dry the texture was more similar to a decaying plant or animal. The sand also had bits of stones, very similar to the pillbugs habitat. During this experiment I learned that the variables being tested have an effect on the outcome of the experiment, I learned how to effectively demonstrate the scientific method; I also learned that pillbugs prefer a substance to have a texture that it is accustomed to.