Assignment: Evaluation of Scientific Writing- Human Ecology

Read the article "Botany: Specialized bird perch aids cross-pollination" by Bruce Anderson, William W. Cole & Spencer C. H. Barrett about how scientists conducted an experiment to examine the effect of a plant perch on bird pollination. Then, access the document, Evaluation of Scientific Writing, and answer the questions regarding how this article relates to the scientific method.

The purpose of this activity is to become familiar with the scientific method. Read the article and answer the following questions.When finished, submit this worksheet to your instructor.

1. What is the hypothesis of the research?

2. What would be a possible null hypothesis?

3. Do you think the scientists use inductive reasoning or deductive reasoning to develop the hypothesis?

4. Describe the experiment the scientists performed. Make sure you talk only about the experiment, not the results or conclusions.

5. What was the independent variable in this experiment?

6. What was the dependent variable in this experiment?

7. What was the treatment of the experiment?

8. Did the scientist use a control group? If so, what was the control group?

9. Briefly describe the results (only) of the experiment.

10. Based on the results, did the scientists reject their null hypothesis? Why or why not?

11. Did the scientists follow the scientific method? Explain why or why not.