Trials

=**Trials**=

Do you have enough trials? Probably not. As scientists, we can NEVER have enough trials!

 * Remember how we learned that scientists never really obtain an exact value? Even when our class followed the same exact procedure, our time for 10 pendulum swings still varied. Even when scientists are very VERY careful an exact value cannot be measured. To try to get as close as possible to an exact value scientists need to do the following:
 * Only change ONE variable on purpose (the manipulated variable)
 * Use identical materials
 * Follow a detailed procedure carefully
 * Repeat the experiment AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE
 * Ideally, if you are working with plants you would use at least 100 (Wisconsin Fast Growth seeds are cheap!)
 * If you are working with people you should aim for 50-100
 * If your trials are limited by finances you still need to complete AT LEAST 10
 * Take careful notes during each trial. If anything goes wrong, record that information. If you have an outlier due to a major mistake you should ignore it (but still write it down).