Biology: Biology Basics: 02: Controlled Experiments - Medical Animation
This animation may only be used in support of a single legal proceeding and for no other purpose. Read our License Agreement for details. To license this image for other purposes, click here.
Biology: Biology Basics: 02: Controlled Experiments - Medical Animation
MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: What is a controlled experiment, and why would you want to do one? Maybe you have an idea that you think might explain a situation. This is called a scientific hypothesis. How could you find out if your hypothesis is correct? Well, you'd set up a controlled experiment in which you control, or keep constant, all the factors, known as variables, except for the one you want to test. Let's design a controlled experiment to test a fertilizer which claims it makes plants grow bigger, lusher, and perhaps produce more flowers, fruit or vegetables. If you wanted to see if the fertilizer works, how would you set up a controlled experiment to test this claim? First, you would get two plants of the same species. Let's call them Plant A and Plant B. Everything about the plants should be exactly the same, including their size, health, and age. Next, you would put each plant in identical pots with the same amount of the same kind of dirt or soil. You would water them both the same amount at the same times. You would also put the plants next to each other in the same place, such a window sill, so that they're boh exposed to the same amount of sunlight and kept at the same temperature. It's important that everything is the same, because the purpose of your experiment is to find out whether or not the fertilizer works. So what would be different? In this experiment, the only difference is that only plant A would get the fertilizer. Now remember, your hypothesis is that Plant A, which is getting fertilizer, will grow bigger compared to Plant B, which isn't getting any fertilizer. How would you know whether your hypothesis is correct? You'd know because you'd regularly measure the plants during the course of the experiment, for example, once a week for a period of three months. You would record these measurements throughout the experiment. These measurements are your data. At the end of the experiment, you would look at your data and compare the measurements of Plant A, which got fertilizer, to Plant B, which didn't get fertilizer. As you can see, Plant A did grow bigger than Plant B. So, it appears that the results of this controlled experiment support your hypothesis. So, let's recap the elements of experimental design. What were you testing? You were testing to see whether or not fertilizer promotes plant growth. What was your hypothesis? The hypothesis was that the plant that got fertilizer would get bigger than the plant that didn't get fertilizer. What were you measuring? You measured the growth of both plants. How do you know if the results of the experiment support your hypothesis? If your hypothesis is true, you would have seen that the plant that got the fertilizer actually did get bigger than the plant that didn't get any fertilizer. The variable you were testing, in this case, the fertilizer, is called the independent variable. And the thing you were observing, measuring, and expecting to change because of that independent variable was plant growth. In this experiment, plant growth is the dependent variable. We'll go over independent and dependent variables in more detail in another video. [music]
"Thank you for the splendid medical-legal art work you did for us in the
case of a young girl who was blinded by a bb pellet. As a result of your
graphic illustrations of this tragic injury, we were able to persuade the
insurance company to increase their initial offer of $75,000.00 to
$475,000.00, just short of their policy limits.
We simply wanted you to know how pleased we were with your work which, to
repeat, was of superlative character, and to let you know that we would be
more than willing to serve as a reference in case you ever need one. Many
thanks for an extraordinary and dramatic depiction of a very serious injury
which clearly "catapulted" the insurance company's offer to a "full and
fair" amount to settle this case."
Philip C. Coulter Coulter &Coulter Roanoke, VA
"We are extremely pleased with the quality of the medical exhibits and the
timely manner in which they were provided. I will certainly recommend
your company to my business associates who could benefit from your services.
Please tell Brian Wilson [Director of Content Development, Senior Medical
Illustrator] that he did an exceptional job on these exhibits."
K. Henderson
Dunaway and Associates
Anderson, SC
"Our practice involves medical negligence cases exclusively. We have six
attorneys and one physician on staff. We have used Medical Legal Art's
staff for every one of our cases over the past 12 years and have found their
services to be extraordinary. The transformation of medical records into
powerful graphic images has without fail been handled expertly,
expeditiously and effectively translating into superb results for our
clients, both in the courtroom and in settlement. Every case can benefit
from their excellent work and we unqualifiedly recommend their services.
They are the best!"
Chris Otorowski
Morrow and Otorowski
Bainbridge Island, Washington
www.medilaw.com
"[I] have come to rely upon the Doe Report and your great staff of
illustrators for all my medical malpractice cases. … Please know
that I enthusiastically recommend you to all my colleagues.
Medical Legal Art creates medical demonstrative evidence (medical
illustrations, drawings, pictures, graphics, charts, medical animations,
anatomical models, and interactive presentations) for use during legal
proceedings, including research, demand letters, client conferences,
depositions, arbitrations, mediations, settlement conferences, mock jury
trials and for use in the courtroom. We do not provide legal or medical
advice. If you have legal questions, you should find a lawyer with whom you
can discuss your case issues. If you have medical questions, you should seek the advice of a healthcare provider.