What is a Science Investigation?
TEA (Texas Educational Agency) defines science investigations as the
following:
Descriptive Investigations
Descriptive investigations involve describing and/or quantifying parts of a
natural or man-made system
Examples of Descriptive investigations include:
Creating compost
school yard succession
Pondwater survey
Hand adapation investigation
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Comparative Investigations
Comparative investigations involve collecting data on different
organisms/objects/features, or collecting data under different conditions
(e.g., times of year, temperatures, locations) to make a comparison
Examples of Comparative Investiagions:
analyzing planets for habitable conditions
Plant vs. animal cell microscope viewing
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Experimental Investigations
Experimental investigations involve designing a fair test in which variables
are actively manipulated, controlled, and measured in an effort to gather
evidence to support or not support a causal relationship
Examples of experimental investigations include
compost vs. soil
Do Plant roots always grow down?
How does salt affect plant cells?
Bird Beak adaptation investigation.
Peppered moth investigation, how does camouflage increase and organisms
chance of survival?