In this experiment we had to figure out how the cross sectional area of certain containers would effect the height of the water inside. The independent variable in this experiment was the cross sectional area of the container and the dependent variable was the height of the water. We kept the amount of water in each container constant as controlled variable. We hypothesized that the less the cross sectional area the more the height of the water inside would be. We used a graduated cylinder to measure out 20 mL of water to put in each container so they would all have 20 mL. First we measured 20 mL into the graduated cylinder. Then we found seven different sized containers and measured the cross sectional area of containers using a ruler in centimeters. Then we poured the water into each container and used the same ruler to collect the height of the water inside in centimeters.
We measured all the cross sectional container area for all seven containers by taking the diameter of the container and multiplying it by 3.14. Then after we measured the area of the container we poured 20 mL of water into the container. Then we took the ruler and measured how high up the water went on the inside of the container. There is some error and uncertainty of course in this experiment. We did all the measurements in with a classroom ruler and used the naked eye to find the measurement. We did not take multiple trials and measurements because of time constrictions and only had Timmy measure the area and myself, Tyler, measure the height. The ruler only went up to an eight of an inch so the data was not as precise as it can be. But overall the largest measurement was ten times larger than the smallest and we had seven different data points so I have pretty high confidence that our data was good.
We found an inverse relationship with our graph. That means and the area of the container got larger the difference between the height of the water would decrease. The graph can also not have a y intercept. As the height of the water gets larger and larger the area of the container would approach zero but never get to the y axis. If the area was zero then the height of the water would be zero and there would be nothing and nothing cannot be measured so the y intercept does not exists. The graph is pretty accurate with only one visible point that is far of the graph. Most of the points were on the line or very close to the line. The equation of the graph is below.
In conclusion, we found that the larger the cross sectional area of the container the smaller the height of the water inside. This logically makes sense because with the same amount of water the wider the container is the less room the water has to go up. Our conclusion matching our hypothesis in the beginning of the experiment. We did not have much error besides a lack of time and the types of equipment we had. If we were to do the experiment again I would have a longer time to do the experiment. I would also have each group member take the measurements to simulated us doing multiple trials. I have high confidence in our data and procedure and I know our conclusion is correct.