Experiments with theSimpsons and Sponge Bob:

Smithers thinks that a special juice will increase the workers productivity. He creates two groups of 50 workers and assigns each group the same task (in this case, they're supposed to staple a set of papers). Group A is given the special juice to drink while they work. Group B is not given the special juice. After an hour, Smithers counts how many stacks ofpapers each group has made. Group A made 1,587 stacks, Group B made 2,113 stacks.

• Identify the:• Control Group• Independent Variable• Dependent Variable• What should Smithers' conclusion be?• How could this experiment be improved?

Homer notices that his shower is covered in a strange green slime. His friend Barney tells him that coconut juice will get rid of the green slime. Homer decides to check this this out by spraying half of the shower with coconut juice. He sprays the other half of the shower with water. After 3 days of "treatment" there is no change in the appearance of the green slime on either side of the shower.

What was the initial observation?

Identify the:Control GroupIndependent VariableDependent VariableWhat should Homer's conclusionbe?

Bart believes that mice exposed tomicrowaves will become extra strong(maybe he's been reading too muchRadioactive Man). He decides to performthis experiment by placing 10 mice in amicrowave for 10 seconds. He comparedthese 10 mice to another 10 mice that hadnot been exposed. He tested the mice byblocking their food dishes with a heavypiece of wood. He found that 8 out of 10 ofthe microwaved mice and 7 out of 10 of thenon-microwaved mice were able to pushthe block of wood off their food dish.

Identify the:Control GroupIndependent VariableDependent VariableWhat should Bart's conclusion be?How could Bart's experiment be improved?

Krusty was told that a certain itchingpowder was the newest best thing on themarket, it even claims to cause 50%longer lasting itches. Interested in thisproduct, he buys the itching powder andcompares it to his usual product. Onetest subject (A) is sprinkled with theoriginal itching powder, and another testsubject (B) was sprinkled with theexperimental itching powder. Subject Areported having itches for 30 minutes.Subject B reported to have itches for 45minutes.

Identify the:Control GroupIndependent VariableDependent VariableExplain whether the data supports theadvertisements claims about itsproduct.

Sponge Bob loves to garden andwants to grow lots of pink flowers forhis pal Sandy. He bought a specialFlower Power fertilizer to see if it willhelp plants produce more flowers. Heplants two plants of the same size inseparate containers with the sameamount of potting soil. He places oneplant in a sunny window and waters itevery day with fertilized water. Heplaces the other plant on a shelf in acloset and waters it with plain waterevery other day.

• What did Sponge Bob do wrong in this

experiment? Explain.

• What should Sponge Bob do to test the

effectiveness of Flower Power fertilizer?

Gary is not the smartestsnail in Bikini Bottom andbelieves he can improve hisbrain power by eating SuperSnail Snacks. In order to test thishypothesis, he recruits SpongeBob and several snail friends tohelp him with the experiment.The snails ate one snack witheach meal every day for threeweeks. Sponge Bob created atest and gave it to the snailsbefore they started eating thesnacks as well as after threeweeks.Based on the data provided, do theSuper Snail Snacks work?Explain your answer.

Mr. Krabs wants to make Bikini Bottoms a nicer place tolive. He has created a new sauce that he thinks will reduce theproduction of body gas associated with eating crabby patties

from the Krusty Krab. He recruits 100 customers with a historyof gas problems. He has 50 of them (Group A) eat crabby

patties with the new sauce. The other 50 (Group B) eat crabbypatties with sauce that looks just like new sauce but is reallyjust mixture of mayonnaise and food coloring. Both groups

were told that they were getting the sauce that would reducegas production. Two hours after eating the crabby patties, 30

customers in group A reported having fewer gas problems and8 customers in group B reported having fewer gas problems.

Which people are in the control group?

What is the independent variable?

What is the dependent variable?What should Mr. Krabs’

conclusion be?Why do you think 8 people in

groupB reported feeling better?

Sponge Bob notices that his pal Gary is suffering from slimotosis, which occurs when the shell develops a nasty slime and gives off a horrible odor. His friend

Patrick tells him that rubbing seaweed on the shell is the perfect cure, while Sandy says that drinking Dr.

Kelp will be a better cure. Sponge Bob decides to test this cure by rubbing Gary with seaweed for 1 week and having him drink Dr. Kelp. After a week of treatment,

the slime is gone and Gary’s shell smells better.

What was the initial observation?What is the independent variable?What is the dependent variable?What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be?

Larry was told that a certain musclecream was the newest “best thing” on themarket and that it claims to double aperson’s muscle power when used aspart of a muscle-building workout.Interested in this product, he buys thespecial muscle cream and recruits Patrickand Sponge Bob to help him with anexperiment. Larry develops a specialmarshmallow weight-lifting program forPatrick and Sponge Bob. He meets withthem once every day for a period of 2weeks and keeps track of their results.Before each session Patrick’s arms andback are lathered in the muscle cream,while Sponge Bob’s arms and back arelathered with the regular lotion.

Which person is in the control group?What is the independent variable?What is the dependent variable?What should Larry’s conclusion be?

Time Patrick SpongeBobInitialAmount 18 5

After 1Week 24 9

After 2weeks 33 17