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Unit Components
School District:Madison Central
Unit of Study Title:Use of Excel in Lab Reports
Grade Level:9-12
Time Frame:3 Days
Key Words:spreadsheet,lab report,excel,graphing,dependent variable, independent variable
 
Unit Designer:Darren Swenson
Unit Designer E-mail:darren.swenson@k12.sd.us
Date Added:6/4/2002 11:52:56 AM
Date Last Revised:6/12/2003 8:55:40 AM
 
Topic Area:Science
 
Peer Reviewer:Mike Lynch
Peer Reviewer E-mail:Darren.Swenson@k12.sd.us

Brief Summary of Unit: The students will use a spreadsheet (Excel) to analyze data gathered during a scientific experiment. They will also need to create a graph to match their data table.
Students will Understand: The students will understand the relationship between independent and dependent variables in graphing data.
The students will understand the importance of data collection and presentation in a lab experiment.

SD Content Standards
Link to Standards #1
Goal:

Science
Students will explore, evaluate, and communicate personal and scientific investigations to understand the nature of science.
Students will identify and evaluate the relationships and ethical implications of science, upon technology, environment, and society.
Indicator:I have tried to enter the correct information here, but it does not appear on the web site once I submit it. For more information, contact me at darren.swenson@k12.sd.us.
Benchmark(s):None Listed
Other Content Standards:None Listed

Other Components
Essential Questions to Guide this Unit and Focus Teaching and Learning: What are the variables in this experiment?
How are these variables related?
Based on the type of data collected, what would be the best graph to use?
Key Knowledge and Skills Students will Acquire: The students will be able to use a spreadsheet to represent their data from a scientific laboratory experiment.
The students will be able to differentiate between independent and dependent variable.
Assessment Plan: The students will create a lab report using the scientific method. Included in this lab report will be a data table and graph created using a spreadsheet (Excel).
Learning Activities: The students will perform a lab activity that requires them to collect and analyze data. They will need to record raw data collected using their senses and then analyze this data.
Notes:This lab activity will work for any experiment in which data is collected. The main focus is for the students to see that one variable affects the other. This will be show graphically using Excel.
Internet Resource Link: http://ds118.k12.sd.us/

Adapted from the the work of Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins. Understanding by
Design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Alexandria, VA. 1998.

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