The document outlines the procedure for an experiment to determine how many drops of water can fit on a penny, including developing a hypothesis, gathering materials, recording results from multiple trials in a graph, analyzing the average number of drops, and drawing a conclusion on whether the hypothesis was supported and what was surprising about the results. Students are asked to research topics that could inform their hypothesis and describe steps needed to obtain accurate measurements.

1. Name:
Date:
Class:
The Penny Lab
Question: How many drops of water can fit onto a penny?
Research: Describe 2 things you could research that would help you write a
hypothesis for this lab?
1. _______________________________________________________________________
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2. _______________________________________________________________________
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Hypothesis:
If I…_________________________________________________________________________
Then…_______________________________________________________________________
Materials:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Procedure:
1. Place a paper towel on the table in front of you and your partner.
2. Place a penny on the paper towel.

2. 3. Using an eyedropper, place drops of water one at a time on a penny while you and your
partner count each drop.
4. Use a hand lens to observe the penny and water drops closely.
5. If water falls off the penny then you cannot count that drop. Stop and record the
number of drops before the water fell off the penny.
6. Repeat this procedure 3 times and record your results on the graph on the back.
Water Drops on a Penny - Graph
70 Draw a detailed diagram of your penny
with water on it in this box.
Number 65
of 60
Water 55
Drops 50
On a 45
Penny 40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
Drops Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
Analysis:
Including all three trials, what was the average number water drops you could
put on a penny before any water fell off the penny? __________________________
Conclusion:
1. Was your hypothesis correct, why or why not?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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2. Describe 3 things you needed to do in this lab to get accurate results.
_____________________________________________________________________________
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3. _____________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________________
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3. What surprized you about this lab? _______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________________
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