Materials & Procedures

How to…

Materials• Think of it as the ingredients to a recipe.• List EVERYTHING that you need to complete

your experiment• Items to include:

– How many (quantity)– How much or what size (metric)

• METRIC: Grams, Liters, Meters, m2, m3, cc, g/m3, g/mL, km/hr, m/s, hours, minutes, seconds, Celsius

– Don’t forget: KHDBDCM• Absolutely NO: Miles, Yards, Feet, inches, Fahrenheit,

Gallons, pints, cups, teaspoons, pounds, ounces, m/hr– Description of each item– Don’t forget what tools/equipment you will use.

It may help to do your materials in a chart

# neede

d

Size/ amoun

tItem description

3 10mL Measuring cups

1 2L Bottle of Spring water

Materials Example

• (1) Triop Hatchery kit containing 80 eggs• (3) 1L clear plastic critter keeper aquariums• (4) 1L bottles of spring water• (3) 10w Critter Keeper underwater heaters• 90 mL powdered Tetra Max fish food• (1) 1mL measuring spoon• (3) stick-on thermometers• (1) 1mL plastic pipette• (1) permanent marker, black• (1) Ruler• (1) Digital Camera

Procedures• Think of the steps in a recipe• Number each step• Each step should start with a verb

– measure, pour, drop, cover, mix, spread, bury, plant, record, cut, stir, shake, weigh, wash, rinse, throw, swing, move, tilt, give, repeat…

• Include specific materials & amounts• Don’t forget to include how to measure/record

the Dependent Variable• If your project occurs over a period of time, be

sure to include the time span• Add a step to repeat steps 1-? (at least 3

times)• 3rd person (no: I, me, my, you, us, we, our…)

Action w

ord

Procedures1. Following the directions on the Triop Hatchery Kit, hatch 30 eggs.2. Let eggs sit for 24hrs3. While the eggs are hatching, fill the 3 aquariums with 1L of bottled water

each.4. Attach 1 thermometer to the bottom right corner on the outside of each

aquarium5. Place 1 heater 2cm below the surface in each aquarium6. Set the 1st heater to 28°C7. Label the aquarium “28°C” with the china marker8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 with the other 2 aquariums setting the heaters to 30°C

and 32°C respectively9. Place tanks on the window sill, plug in heaters and allow to stabilize for at

least 4 hrs.10. Using the pipette, carefully siphon 10 triops from the hatchery11. Release the 10 triops into the 1st tank12. Repeat steps 10 & 11 with the other 2 tanks respectively13. Mark the top of the water line on the outside of each tank with the china

marker, this will be the “top off” mark14. Photograph each tank15. Record the number of triops in each of the different temperature

aquariums in the data table16. Each day at 3pm photograph each aquarium and record the number of

triops in each aquarium in the data chart17. Each day at 4pm using the pipette and the 4th bottle of water, slowly add

water to each aquarium until the water level reaches the “top off” line.18. Each day after topping off, feed 1mL of crushed fish food to each

aquarium using the measuring spoon19. Continue to photograph & record the triop population in each aquarium

for 30 days

Materials & Procedures• Problem Statement• Hypothesis• Materials• •

• Procedures1. 2. 3.

Materials & ProceduresProblem Statement: Does temperature affect the lifespan of triops?Hypothesis: If the temperature is warmer (32°C) then the lifespan of the triops will be shorter than the lifespan

of the the triops in the cooler (30°C & 28°C) water.Materials:• 1 Triop Hatchery kit containing 80 eggs 1 1mL measuring spoon• 3 1L clear plastic critter keeper aquariums 3 stick-on thermometers• 4 1L bottles of spring water 1 1mL plastic pipette• 3 10w Critter Keeper underwater heaters 1 china marker, black• 90mL powdered Tetra Max fish foodRuler• CameraProcedures1. Following the directions on the Triop Hatchery Kit, hatch 30 eggs.2. Let eggs sit for 24hrs3. While the eggs are hatching, fill the 3 aquariums with 1L of bottled water each.4. Attach 1 thermometer to the bottom right corner on the outside of each aquarium5. Place 1 heater 2cm below the surface in each aquarium6. Set the 1st heater to 28°C7. Label the aquarium “28°C” with the china marker8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 with the other 2 aquariums setting the heaters to 30°C and 32°C respectively9. Place tanks on the window sill, plug in heaters and allow to stabilize for at least 4 hrs.10. Using the pipette, carefully siphon 10 triops from the hatchery11. Release the 10 triops into the 1st tank12. Repeat steps 10 & 11 with the other 2 tanks respectively13. Mark the top of the water line on the outside of each tank with the china marker, this will be the “top off”

mark14. Photograph each tank15. Record the number of triops in each of the different temperature aquariums in the data table16. Each day at 3pm photograph each aquarium and record the number of triops in each aquarium in the data

chart17. Each day at 4pm using the pipette and the 4th bottle of water, slowly add water to each aquarium until the

water level reaches the “top off” line.18. Each day after topping off, feed 1mL of crushed fish food to each aquarium using the measuring spoon19. Continue to photograph & record the triop population in each aquarium for 30 days

Metric Units: (www.metric-conversions.org)

English units (do not use):

Metric Units (use these instead):

gallons, cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, pints

liters (L), milliliters (mL)

inches (in), feet (ft), miles (mi), yards

centimeters (cm), meters (m), kilometers (km)

pounds (lbs), ounces (oz)Kilograms (kg), grams (g), milligrams (mg)

Degrees Fahrenheit (F) Degrees Celsius (C)