Scientific Questionnaire Lab Report
Priya Mekala & Yash Reddy, 5th Period
Question
Hypothesis
Type of Investigation
Parts of an Experiment
Dependent Variable- Average Hours of Physical Activity Per Week
Independent Variable- Gender
Control- none
Experimental Group- Coppell High School Students (10th- 12th grade)
- Two Factors Held Constant- One factor held constant would be the school the students attend (CHS). Another constant would be the grades the students are in (10th- 12th).
Data Table
Bar Graphs
Analysis
High school males get more hours of physical activity per week compared to high school females. The average number of hours of physical activity a Coppell High School male participated in per week was ten hours, while the average number of hours of physical activity a female participated in per week was four hours. The difference between these sets of data is significant, because the error bars do not overlap and the p-value is 0.0009 (which is less than 0.05). Males engage in more physical activity, because of the male sex hormones androgens (Wardle). Specifically, males have less oxytocin (Gurian). This causes males to be more active (Wardle). The lack of these chemicals causes males to be more physically impulsive and also significantly less likely to sit still (Gurian). The need to be physically active may also be cultural, in addition to being biological (Wardle). Historically, there has always been a division between the activities that males and females could participate in (Bailey). For instance, for many years sports were solely an activity for males (Wardle). In general, males have always been allowed to play more physically and actively, while females were discouraged from doing the same (Bailey).
Conclusion
The hypothesis that high school males get more hours of physical activity per week compared to high school females was supported. The purpose of the experiment was achieved.