Biology Foundations and Lab Skills Teaching Resources · High school biology; AP extensions where noted.
This guided reading task asks students to compare descriptions of scientific inquiry and then design a testable investigation on paper. The aim is to explain how evidence is used, rather than copy a list of steps from a website.
Learning goals and preparation
- Distinguish questions, explanations, predictions, and evidence.
- Compare a simplified classroom sequence with inquiry in practice.
- Credit a source and explain an idea in original words.
Prerequisite: scientific method notes. Materials: paper or a document editor and access to the two readings below. The teacher should open the readings before assigning them; a printed excerpt selected under the source’s terms or a teacher explanation can replace web access.
Reading stations
- OpenStax: The Process of Science. Find how the reading distinguishes a hypothesis from a prediction and how evidence is used to examine an explanation.
- College Board: AP Biology Lab Manual Resource Center. Read the overview of inquiry-based investigations. Identify examples of decisions students can make about methods, measurements, or analysis. This is a source about teaching inquiry, not a required procedure for this activity.
Student response sheet
Record the title, organization, URL, and date accessed for each reading. In your own words, answer:
- What makes a question investigable with scientific evidence?
- How does a prediction differ from a proposed explanation?
- Why might a researcher return to an earlier question or revise a method?
- What useful role does a classroom sequence play? What does it leave out?
- How could observations contribute to an investigation without a manipulated treatment?
Apply what you learned
Plan a paper investigation of how water availability might affect seed germination. Define “germinated,” the measurement period, treatment levels, independent experimental units, conditions kept comparable, and an appropriate comparison. Explain what pattern would support your prediction and what alternative explanation would still need attention. No seeds, chemicals, or organisms are handled during this web quest.
Teacher feedback
A useful plan names observable outcomes and avoids treating “better growth” as a measurement. If seeds share a container, students should consider whether the container rather than each seed is the independently treated unit. A good response credits sources, distinguishes the two readings’ purposes, and acknowledges uncertainty. Do not require an “if–then” sentence as the only acceptable form of a scientific hypothesis.
Assessment: check accurate concepts, specific design choices, reasons for those choices, and source credit. For AP extension, ask students to identify a confound and propose a better sampling or treatment-assignment strategy.