In biology many experimental procedures utilize the scientific method. The scientific method is a sequence of defined steps that start from the earliest stages of the discovery of scientific phenomena to its explained conclusion. A key element in the use of scientific method in explaining scientific phenomena is to have a systematic way of analyzing problems and reporting results. There are several stages in the scientific method: question/problem presentation, background research of phenomena, hypothesis, experiment, results and conclusion. All these processes allow a scientist to gather measureable and empirical evidence to arrive at a sound conclusion which is backed up by scientific reason (Argawal 2004).
This paper will dwell on two scenarios.
Scenario one: You make your way to the shower per usual routine, but on this unfortunate day no water comes from the faucet.
Question/Problem
What causes water shortage in my house?
Background Research
Water is a key component in our daily livelihoods and it determines the quality of life of individuals. Our active economies depend on it. Communities and families cannot survive without water (Uitto, 2000). The diversity in our environments and physical beauty is supported by the presence of water. Many biological procedures are supported by water for instance plants use water in their metabolic functions such as photosynthesis. Man’s blood has a high percentage of water and water is a great solvent for many bodily solutes in the cellular processes.
In many of our neighborhoods water is made available through piping system, rain water collection and boreholes. The mode of water access is determined by the nature of the environment. In many arid areas for instance use the borehole water system due to water scarcity. My home is a semi-urban setting thus the rain water collection is the most ideal.
Hypothesis
Water shortage is caused by water wastage.
Experiment
A maximum of four days are going to be used in the experimentation process. We are going to have the first two days where the water meter readings will be taken at the start of the day at 7 am. Water use through various functions in the house will run normally on this day. At the end of the day the water meter recordings are going to be taken at 10 pm. The second two days, water will be used in a conserved way. Showers will be taken once in this day by each house member. Dishes will be washed twice on this day in full loads. The same procedure will be used meter readings will be taken at the start of the day at 7am and at night at 10pm.
Results
The first two days the meter readings were 735 liters and 765 liters respectively. The second two days the readings were 598 liters and 579 liters.
Conclusion
It was found out that the first days where normal water usage takes place; the water consumption was high compared to the last two days where water conservation methods were employed in the household.
Scenario 2: Own detailed problem.
Question
Is eye vision decreased after many hours of computer use?
Background
The use of computers has over the years become an integral part in our lives. The world operates on a digital platform where many functions are carried out using computers such as at the work place and work. This forces many people to spend hours working on computers which has been linked to eye conditions and vision impairments. Computers are known to cause Computer Vision Syndrome which is a temporary condition that arises as a result of long focusing on a computer screen of display for uninterrupted time frames (Huang, 2005). Its symptoms include headaches, blurred vision, eye strain and dryness, neck pains and difficulty in eye-refocusing.
Hypothesis
Blinking less during computer use brings about decreased vision.
Experiment
Informed consent was obtained from ten individuals, men and women ranging from age 10 to 80 years. The baseline of the data required was subject to the average number of times each of the ten subjects blinked and their baseline near vision. A test was carried out to check whether an individual’s vision decreased while staring at the computer screen without blinking for thirty seconds. The procedure also included the counting of the number of times the subject blinked while working on a computer for two time sets, three minutes and ten minutes and testing the vision immediately. The vision was tested using Rosenbaum Pocket Vision Screener.
Results
Seven of the fifteen subjects were found to have diminished vision after just working for three minutes on the computer and nine of the ten had diminished vision after ten minutes working on the same computer screen. After reading six of the ten subjects had diminished vision in at least a single eye after both three and ten minute set of intervals. All individual subjects blinked fewer instances per minute while working on the computer for two and ten minute interval sets and reading for ten minutes. All subjects except for one blinked less while reading for the three minutes.
Conclusion
The experiment results showed that one’s vision decreased after working and reading on the computer especially in the instances where the subjects did not blink often as expected. The younger subjects, however, who had been found to have a 20/20 baseline vision, did not have a vision problem after working on the computer. This continues to show that the severity of the vision problem is relatively linked to the age of the subjects i.e. the older the subject the greater the severity of the eye vision problem.
References
Agarwal, D. D. (2004). Modern methods of teaching biology. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons.
Ford, E. D. (2000). Scientific method for ecological research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Huang, T. S., Kisacanin, B., & Pavlovic, V. (2005). Real-time vision for human-computer interaction. New York: Springer.
Uitto, J. I., Biswas, A. K., & UNU Global Environmental Forum (2000). Water for urban areas: Challenges and perspectives. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.
United Nations (1999). Water for urban areas: Challenges and perspectives.
