Part 1 - Introduction

| The Organization of Life

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To benefit from this simulation, you should be able to describe each of the steps of the scientific method:
• Observation
• Critical questions
• Hypothesis
• Prediction
• Experiment/measurement
• Results (data)
• Analysis
• Conclusion

After completing this simulation you will be able to describe:

• How scientists use the results of a random sample to accept or reject a hypothesis
• How scientists assess the accuracy of the results obtained from a random sample
• The meaning of the terms:

• Random sample
• Convenience sample
• Standard error
• Confidence level
• Margin of error

How do scientists use random samples to test hypotheses?

Scientists go through a set of logical steps when conducting an experiment.

You are an biologist who studies parasitic infections in shrimp. The first set of steps in an experiment might be:

Observation: You observe that many shrimp taken from a nearby lake are infected with a specific parasite.
Critical Question: You question whether parasitic infection among shrimp is on the rise.
Hypothesis: Parasitic infection among shrimp is increasing.
Prediction: The proportion of shrimp infected with the parasite is greater now than it was when last measured seven years ago (20% at that time).
Experiment/Measurement: You cannot capture and test each shrimp for parasites; therefore you decide to draw (capture) a sample of shrimp to test for the parasite.