MOUSETRAP CAR LAB WRITE-UP GRADING Tahoma Jr. High 8 th Grade Science Maple Valley, WA

MOUSETRAP CAR

LAB WRITE-UP

GRADING

Tahoma Jr. High8th Grade ScienceMaple Valley, WA

GENERAL

RULE FOR 8th GRADE SCIENCE:

ALL WORK MUST BE HAND-WRITTEN FOR TWO REASONS:

1) IT IS TOO EASY TO SHARE ELECTRONIC FILESAND NOT DO THE WORK

2) MOST STATE / STANDARDIZED TESTS REQUIRE HANDWRITING – PRACTICE YOUR PENMANSHIP!

First: get a distinctive

colored pen (red is great)

and write

“C.B. (your First & Last names)”

in upper left –

even if it is your own paper !

You will be looking for evidence of each Item from the Investigative Design Rubric and then putting a “Code” for that Item and then a 1 or 0 in a circle to show whether you found evidence of that Item or not.

Step 1: Question

Is the question in the form of a question?

If the question is in the form of a question (has a ? Mark) write the Code “Q” (for Question) in the left margin and underneath put a 1 in a circle (shown below).

If not, put a 0 in a circle (saying you looked for it, but couldn’t find evidence of it)

STEP 1 - QUESTION:What Simple Machine change can be made to a Mousetrap Car within 20 minutes so that it will work better by going a longer distance ?

1

Q

Step 2: Hypothesis

Is the hypothesis in the “IF …., THEN ….,” format ?

STEP 2 - HYPOTHESIS: IF (how one of three legal

Manipulated Variable is changed)) THEN the car would go a

longer distance (Responding Variable) BECAUSE (something

scientific explaining how more Mechanical Advantage was

gained).

If you find the proper format put a Code “H” (for Hypothesis) with a 1.

If you did not find both If (Manipulated Variable) and Then (Responding Variable) put a 0.

1

H

Step 2: Hypothesis (cont’d)

Does the Hypothesis have a “…BECAUSE…” scientific explanation?

STEP 2 - HYPOTHESIS: IF (how one of three legal

Manipulated Variable is changed)) THEN the car would go a

longer distance (Responding Variable) BECAUSE (something

scientific explaining how more Mechanical Advantage was

gained).

If you find a reasonable Becuase put a Code “B” (for Because) with a 1.

If you did not find a reasonable “Because” put a 0.

1

B

Step 3 – Experiment

Is there a Materials List ?

Materials List:

Tape Measure (any distance measuring tool)

Other important items to build the car AND do the experiment

If you find a Materials List with an instrument to measure the Responding Variable, put a Code “ML” (for Materials List) with a 1.

If you did not find a table – or the table did not have the measuring instrument, put a 0.

1

ML

Step 3 – Experiment (continued)

Procedure:

Manipulated Variable is… (the IF part of the

Hypothesis) – they MUST match

At the beginning of the Procedure the three variables should be listed or clearly identified.

If you see the IF part of the Hypothesis as “Manipulated Variable is…” put an “MV” and a 1 in circle next to it.

1

MV


Procedure:

Responding Variable (the THEN part of

Hypothesis) is the distance traveled by the car

*this should have been the same for everyone


If you see the THEN part of Hypothesis as “Responding Variable is…” put an “RV” and a 1 in circle next to it.

1

RV


Procedure:

Controlled Variable is… (obvious examples:

mousetrap, floor surface, any of the other two

legal changes that are not the MV)


If you see one good “Controlled Variable is…” put an “CV” and a 1 in circle next to it.

1

CV

Only need 1 good one to get the point, BUT it is good to write three good Controlled Variables for

“insurance” and also in 9th grade you will need two.


Does the Procedure have #ed logical steps?

Procedure: (it can be this simple)

1. Build car according to attached sketches2. Race unmodified car (short arm) and use tape measure from

front wheel start to front wheel stop in meters and record3. Modify car by…4. Race modified car (long arm) and use tape measure from front

wheel start to front wheel stop in meters and record5. …

If you skim read the Procedure and it seems to follow a logical sequence and is a numbered list, put a Code “# L” (Numbered Logical) with a 1.

If you did not find it logical or #ed put a 0.

1

# L


Procedure:

Is the whole experiment repeated ?

5. Repeat Whole Experiment (it’s easier to just write this ALWAYS as the last numbered instruction)

The Procedure should explain how to do either the whole experiment again or multiple trials.*Be careful if it says “repeat steps…” to be sure those steps are the WHOLE experiment or multiple trials of EACH situation. Where you find it put a Code “R.W.E.” with a 1.

If you did not find it put a 0.

1

RWE

Step 4 – Data Table

Is there a data table or chart to record data in

an organized way ? If you find a Data Table (or chart) put aCode “D.T.” with a 1.

If you did not find one put a 0.

1

DT


Is the Data Table labeled with the Manipulated

Variable ? Data tables or charts should have proper labels (including units). If you find the Manipulated Variable labeled put a Code “M.V.L.” (for Manipulated Variable Label) with a 1.


1

MVL MV

RVdistance traveled

(m) Trial #1

RVdistance traveled

(m) Trial #2

RVdistance traveled

(m) Trial #3

AVG

small drive wheels

5 n/a n/a 5.0

large drive wheels

4 n/a n/a 4.0


Is the Data Table labeled with the Responding Variable ?

Data tables or charts should have proper labels (including units). If you find the Responding Variable labeled put a Code “R.V.L.” (for Responding Variable Label) with a 1.


1

RVL MV

RVdistance

traveled (m) Trial #1

RVdistance


RVdistance


AVG

small drive wheels

5 n/a n/a 5.0

large drive wheels

4 n/a n/a 4.0

MUST HAVE THE UNITS INCLUDED

Step 5 – Conclusion

There are four parts to a good Conclusion.

#1 – is the Hypothesis Copied ?

Look for the original Hypothesis to start the Conclusion. If you find it, put aCode “C.H.” (for Copied Hypothesis) with a 1.

If you did not find it put a 0.

1

CHDid they Copy EXACTLY what was up in Step 2?

Step 5 – Conclusion:

Next – are the two averages stated (the Before

Change Average and the After Change Average)? Look for each and put a code for each one:

BCA for Before Change Average andACA for After Change Average

If you did not find each of these put a 0 for each.

1

BCAExample: …was correct since the Unmodified Car went 4m and the Modified Car went 5m…

1

ACA


Finally – is there an Explanation for how the calculated Difference between the two averages tells

whether the Hypothesis is correct or not?

If you find something like:

“…since the Modified Car went 1m further than the Unmodified car the Hypothesis was correct.” put ExD and 1pt.

If you did not find a Difference and/or Explanation put a 0.

1

ExD


Evaluation / Critique

Now that the Hypothesis has been proven correct or not, it’s good to look at the whole experiment and try to find areas that may cause bad data (i.e. make the experiment “invalid”). Any reasonable idea of what may have made the experiment not work as good as it should have is OK. Use the Code “E / C” and put a 1.

If you did not find one good idea for Evaluating or Critiquing the experiment put a 0.

1

E / CExample: The cars ran across tape on the floor and/or metal plates so the surface was not consistent. The car’s distance if it curved was not included in the measurement – only the straight line distance. Measurements were made only in whole meters, not very accurate.


New Question to explore ?

While doing an experiment, usually new questions come to mind that you may want to experiment on afterwards. Look for any reasonable follow-up question and use the Code “N.Q.” (for New Question) and put a 1.

If you did not find any new question put a 0.

1

NQExample: I wonder what would have happened if I had changed one of the OTHER manipulated variable choices, or used a rat trap (illegal in assignment but OK for further exploration)? Anything related to mousetrap cars and simple machines is fine.

YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE

OPTIONS FOR THE MANIPULATIED VARIABLE

(they were explained in an ENTRY QUESTION and PPT back when this

project started)

your teacher will subtract 20pts from your lab write-up score LATER if you

did not choose one of the three

Changing Lever Arm Length

(changing the length of the string doesn’t count since it’s not a simple

machine and only transfers the energy of the spring to the DRIVE wheels)

Changing the DRIVE Wheel Diameter

Changing the DRIVE Axle Diameter

Now…

You need to total all the points earned (there are a total of 18 possible) and then record the total up near the person’s name on the front page (should be in the upper right) in a fraction out of 18 and circled (see below).

C.B. Justin Beiber Taylor Swift10 NOV 07, Pd 4

1418

Finally… You will give the paper back to the person for them to double-check your grading is accurate.

When you get your own paper back carefully go through it.If you disagree with how it was graded, then write nearthe grade the code “see DT”to let the teacher know to lookthere and make a final decision.

If you don’t put any notes theTeacher will figure you arehappy with how it was gradedso check carefully and makea note if you need to!!

Then initial yourself thatyou checked the grading.

C.B. Justin Bieber Taylor Swift10 NOV 07, Pd 4

1418

see DT

T.S.

We will use this format to grademany lab write-ups. It’s part of the

practice needed to do good Lab Write-Ups.

By grading someone else’s it makes you see how hard it is for a state test grader to give you the

most points – and then you also learn again what to do by checking your own work was graded

properly (i.e. you used the rubric 3 times).

REMEMBER: BE NEAT and COMPLETE !!

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MOUSETRAP CAR LAB WRITE-UP GRADING Tahoma Jr. High 8 th Grade Science Maple Valley, WA