Project question
Open your materials, follow the steps, then turn in your work.
Define a testable claim and methods for your independent capstone project.
1. Open your materials
Use the materials named in the first step below. Open lesson resources.
2. Start the work
State a clear, researchable question for your project.
Show all 5 required steps
- State a clear, researchable question for your project.
- Write the claim you expect your project to support.
- Outline the methods you will use to gather evidence.
- Identify your key variables and how you will measure them.
- Note one limitation of your proposed approach.
Lost your place? Restarting? Confirm your researchable question from step 1, then check you have written the claim you expect (step 2) before you outline methods in step 3, identify your variables in step 4, and name one limitation in step 5.
Check your work before submitting
- You can write a testable claim and match your methods to it.
- You named your variables and one limitation.
Before lab work: read the safety rules
- All biological materials must be handled at BSL-1 or as directed by the teacher for the specific organism.
- Wear gloves, goggles, and lab coat whenever handling biological samples or chemical reagents.
- Decontaminate all biological waste with 10 percent bleach before disposal; nothing biological goes in regular trash.
- If PCR amplification is used, keep amplicons covered to avoid aerosol contamination of other samples.
- Any human-sourced material (saliva, cheek cells) requires explicit teacher approval and must follow HIPAA-analogous data handling: no student names attached to samples.
- Report any chemical or biological spill immediately; do not attempt to clean up alone.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after any contact with biological or chemical materials.
3. Turn in your work
DueCheck Schoology- Hand in
- Independent project definition: researchable question, testable claim, methods outline with identified variables and measurement units, a designated control, and one named limitation.
How to submit and name your file
Use the submission route shown on today's today's page.
In Schoology, open your course and the assignment for this lesson. Attach your file, select Submit, and check that it appears in the submission.
PDF upload helpYou get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
How this lesson connects
Keep using what you learned last class: An unbroken chain of custody makes evidence valid because the documented record of every handler and storage step is the only thing that lets you rule out tampering, so a single gap creates doubt no matter how genuine the sample is. Today: A well-formed claim and methods plan are the foundation of independent inquiry because naming your variables, control, and units in advance is what makes a result provable rather than a matter of opinion.
Optional: listen or watch a unit review▸
Need help? Warm-up, timing, and directions▸
💡 Big idea: A well-formed claim and methods plan are the foundation of independent inquiry because naming your variables, control, and units in advance is what makes a result provable rather than a matter of opinion.
- 0-5 minWarm-up: share your draft project question from the prelab
- 5-20 minRefine your with teacher and peer input
- 20-40 minWrite your claim and outline your methods with variables and measurement units
- 40-55 minIdentify your , , and control
- 55-70 minName one limitation and how it affects what your results can claim
- 70-80 minExit ticket: state your question, claim, and the one control you will include
- • Your capstone project starts here: a question you can actually investigate, and a plan to investigate it.
- • We'll use the same scientific method standard applied in every BI unit: claim, evidence, methods, limitation.
- • A good question is specific enough that you could answer it with the resources available in this class.
- • By the end of today, your project is defined and documented.
- • A testable claim specifies what you expect to find and in what direction.
- • Methods must include the , , control, and measurement units.
- • Naming a limitation upfront shows scientific honesty and improves the overall design.
PLTW connection and today's work
Open Problem 8 in your myPLTW course shell and navigate to the current independent project activity, then define a testable claim and methods for your capstone project.
Today's stopping point: The chain-of-custody table is done; project definition is the foundational Problem 8 milestone, so confirm your timing.
PLTW activity titles identify the course connection. If your account will not open, use the posted materials for today and tell Mr. Mendoza. Do not mark an online activity complete unless you completed it.
Course connection
- Activity 8.1.1 Identifying a Project Topic
Use the turn-in directions at the top of this page. Do not create a second submission unless your teacher asks for one.
Show another explanation or a smaller first step
Need help? Choose a starting point
Finish the assigned lab safely before starting extra practice.
Lesson resources: reading, slides, and vocabulary▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
An unbroken makes evidence valid because the documented record of every handler and storage step is the only thing that lets you rule out tampering, so a single gap creates doubt no matter how genuine the sample is.
A well-formed claim and methods plan are the foundation of independent inquiry because naming your variables, control, and units in advance is what makes a result provable rather than a matter of opinion.
A research team lays out its question, variables, controls, sampling plan, measurement record, and analysis before deciding what the data support.
- Which variable is changed or compared?
- Which conditions and measurements must stay consistent?
- Which conclusion is inside the study's evidence boundary?
Define variables, controls, sampling, units, and the analysis plan before interpreting a result; analysis cannot repair biased or inconsistent measurement.
A well-organized classroom study can still be limited by , measurement quality, confounding, and the population represented.
- • Question and variable cards map to the study design.
- • Control and measurement cards map to fair, reproducible data collection.
- • The conclusion card maps to a bounded claim supported by the analysis.
Driving question: Can you rewrite your capstone idea into one claim that names what you expect to find, the variable you will change, the variable you will measure, and the control that keeps the comparison fair?
What you already know: An unbroken makes evidence valid because the documented record of every handler and storage step is the only thing that lets you rule out tampering, so a single gap creates doubt no matter how genuine the sample is.
New idea: A well-formed claim and methods plan are the foundation of independent inquiry because naming your variables, control, and units in advance is what makes a result provable rather than a matter of opinion.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for Project question. Use it with E1-E3; it is a model or context image, not experimental or patient data. What to notice: Trace the labeled system, test, or design relationship and identify which evidence should trigger revision.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in project question.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: Define variables, controls, sampling, units, and the analysis plan before interpreting a result; analysis cannot repair biased or inconsistent measurement.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: Can you rewrite your capstone idea into one claim that names what you expect to find, the variable you will change, the variable you will measure, and the control that keeps the comparison fair?
What the evidence supports: E1-E3 and F1 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
An independent investigation connects a testable claim to reproducible methods, controls, and variables, ensuring the resulting data can answer the specific project question.
Limit: A classroom proposal outlines a feasible experiment but does not guarantee the availability of resources or the success of the methodology.
Define variables, controls, sampling, units, and the analysis plan before interpreting a result; analysis cannot repair biased or inconsistent measurement.
Limit: A well-organized classroom study can still be limited by , measurement quality, confounding, and the population represented.
You can write a testable claim and match your methods to it.
Limit: E3 defines the classroom product or success criterion. It is not independent scientific evidence and cannot justify a clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-BFH-2027-05-14 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: biomedical design team member
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from project question supports before submitting the pre-lab readiness record named on today's page.
- • Narrow your idea to one changed variable, one measured outcome with units, and a control keeping comparison fair.
- • Keep the question broad, like how diet affects health, so your capstone covers more ground and looks ambitious.
- • Confirm your lab has the equipment and class time to measure that outcome before committing to the question.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the pre-lab readiness record.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about project question. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from project question supports before submitting the pre-lab readiness record named on today's page.
Context: A testable claim states what you expect and in which direction, and pairs it with variables you can control and measure; without that structure a project is an opinion, not an investigation.
- • T1: State a clear, for your project.
- • T2: Write the claim you expect your project to support.
- • T3: Outline the methods you will use to gather evidence.
- • T4: Identify your key variables and how you will measure them.
- • T5: Note one limitation of your proposed approach.
- • E1: An independent investigation connects a testable claim to reproducible methods, controls, and variables, ensuring the resulting data can answer the specific project question.
- • E2: Define variables, controls, sampling, units, and the analysis plan before interpreting a result; analysis cannot repair biased or inconsistent measurement.
- • E3: You can write a testable claim and match your methods to it.
Measurements: Use only the measurements, units, graph, or counts supplied in today's task. No additional patient measurement is implied.
Figure finding: Teaching diagram for Project question. Trace the labeled system, test, or design relationship and identify which evidence should trigger revision. This is a teaching model, not patient or experimental data.
Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.
Rate or percent = part / comparison total x 100%. Percent change = (new - comparison) / comparison x 100%.
If 18 of 60 records meet a condition, the frequency is 18 / 60 x 100% = 30%.
Name the comparison total. A percent describes the supplied group and does not automatically predict an individual's outcome.
Use today's supplied counts to calculate one rate, risk, frequency, or percent change. Show the denominator and interpretation.
- • The solution must address the stated need in project question.
- • The decision must be supported by E1-E3.
- • The final product must make the success criteria visible.
- • Complete the work inside the 80-minute block.
- • Use only supplied or teacher-approved materials and evidence.
- • Do not trade , accessibility, or privacy for speed.
- • and evidence quality: must pass before scoring other criteria.
- • User need and effectiveness: highest scored criterion.
- • Time, cost, and ease of use: compare only after and effectiveness pass.
Test evidence: For each option, record the E1-E3 result that supports or fails each criterion. Do not assign a score without a named observation.
- Version or option tested
- Criterion met or missed
- Evidence ID and result
- Revision made
- Reason for the revision
- Need and user
- Criteria and constraints
- Chosen option and evidence
- Test result
- Revision and reason
Students often think Students think a good is broad so it can cover a lot, so they write 'How does diet affect health?' and feel it is ambitious.. The trap: That is a trap because a question you cannot fully test in your project is a question you cannot answer at all. Narrowing to one changed variable, one measured outcome, and a unit is not shrinking your project; it is the only thing that makes it finishable and provable.
Question: Does the amount of hand-sanitizer contact time affect how much bacterial growth appears on a surface swab?
Testable claim: I expect that longer sanitizer contact time will lead to fewer bacterial colonies on the swab plate.
Methods outline:
- Independent variable: sanitizer contact time (0, 15, 30, and 60 seconds).
- Dependent variable: number of bacterial colonies, counted after 48 hours of incubation.
- Control: a surface swabbed with no sanitizer (0 seconds).
- Measurement: colonies counted as whole numbers; time measured in seconds with a stopwatch.
- I will run three plates per time to average out variation.
One limitation: My colony counts only sample one surface type, so the results may not apply to all materials or to viruses, which this method does not detect.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the independent-project definition: a researchable question, a testable claim, a methods outline with variables and measurement units, a designated control, and one named limitation.
- Identify the purpose, hazards, and required controls.
- Write the procedure in a usable order.
- Confirm materials, measurements, and waste handling before starting.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Submit your project question and methods outline on Schoology today.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Classroom documents for this lesson are posted in Schoology. Open Clever, then Schoology, and find each one by the name shown on its card.
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched project by path:Biomedical-Innovations/Problem-7_Forensic-Autopsy/7.1_Forensic-Autopsy; keywords:forensic, autopsy, fetal pig, organ. Score 158. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched project by path:Biomedical-Innovations/Problem-7_Forensic-Autopsy/7.1_Forensic-Autopsy; keywords:forensic, autopsy, fetal pig, organ. Score 158. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Use this as the classroom resource for project.
Placement rationale
Matched project by path:Biomedical-Innovations/Problem-7_Forensic-Autopsy/7.1_Forensic-Autopsy; keywords:forensic, autopsy, fetal pig, organ. Score 158. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Sign in to Clever with your district Microsoft account to open Schoology or myPLTW. Follow today's posted steps. If myPLTW will not open, use the posted alternative and tell Mr. Mendoza. Turn in your completed work through the Schoology assignment.
Practice: try a question, then check your answer▸
Claim ceiling for this check: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about project question. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
A student writes: 'Plants grow better with fertilizer.' Rewrite it as a testable claim that a project could actually measure, and name the control.
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Missed class or ready for more?▸
Run this before you touch the bench. It is built from the real lab procedure, so the decisions you make here are the ones you will make with the equipment in your hands.
I can name the procedure's purpose and the evidence I will record. I can state today's specific hazards and the control for each. If this deck does not name them, I ask Mr. Mendoza before I touch anything. My data table is ready before materials are handled.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • All biological materials must be handled at BSL-1 or as directed by the teacher for the specific organism.
- • Wear gloves, goggles, and lab coat whenever handling biological samples or chemical reagents.
- • Decontaminate all biological waste with 10 percent bleach before disposal; nothing biological goes in regular trash.
- • If PCR amplification is used, keep amplicons covered to avoid aerosol contamination of other samples.
- • Any human-sourced material (saliva, cheek cells) requires explicit teacher approval and must follow HIPAA-analogous data handling: no student names attached to samples.
- • Report any chemical or biological spill immediately; do not attempt to clean up alone.
- • Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after any contact with biological or chemical materials.
- 1Before materials are handled, identify the purpose, variables or comparison, controls, measurement units, and stop-work condition.
- 2State a clear, researchable question for your project.
- 3Write the claim you expect your project to support.
- 4Outline the methods you will use to gather evidence.
- 5Identify your key variables and how you will measure them.
- 6Note one limitation of your proposed approach.
- 7Record each result in the prepared table before interpreting it. Mark missing, repeated, or invalid results truthfully.
- 8Complete the named cleanup and waste route, remove PPE safely, wash hands when required, and confirm the station is ready for the next group.
| Trial or sample ID | Independent condition | Measured result with units | Observation before interpretation | Quality-control note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before the procedure, predict the result and cite the rule behind the prediction.
After the procedure, compare the result with the prediction and name one limitation or source of uncertainty.
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
The bench work needs equipment you do not have at home. Do the thinking half now: read the procedure, write your prediction, and set up your data table so it is ready.
Back in class. Ask Mr. Mendoza for the class data set, or for a bench slot to run it yourself. Do not submit a Pre-lab with invented numbers.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
NIST Forensic ScienceYou've passed Unit 2, so the optional extra-credit track is open. Complete reserved-unit work from home, including virtual labs, for extra credit. Each item shows its correct submission route.
Open the extra-credit track- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedGo to Schoology to turn this in. Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf. If you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
- Error analysis and method · counts doubleName a specific limit of the method and how it moved your result, and compare what you predicted to what happened. "Human error" does not count; say what about the procedure or instrument caused it.
This week
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