2006-09-10 18:51:53 · 5 answers · asked by Jennifer V 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
if you can't draw a logical conclusion based on the results of the experiment, I guess?
For example if you don't set up proper controls for your experiment, or the experiment itself were not designed appropriately, then you couldn't interpret your results.
2006-09-10 18:57:54 · answer #1 · answered by Stinkypuppy 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I agree with "Stinkypup" - an experiment fails if you can't interpret its results.
I think this could happen on a couple of levels - one is that the experiment execution was flubbed. Say for example you don't adequately clean your test tube, so the test reagent you put in it gives a misleading result.
But the really dangerous failure is one in which the experiment itself is not really designed to test the hypothesis you think you are testing.
My brother once watched a guy run a small steam engine at a flea market. This guy was operating it at his stall, but it wasn't going very fast, so in order to make it seem more impressive, he would from time to time spray it with a can of WD-40 (a popular machine lubricant in aerosol form.)
"Why are you spraying that engine?" my brother asks, because the fellow wasn't just spritzing the axle, he was coating the whole darn thing.
"Well, it won't run fast unless I keep it lubricated," the guy replied.
My brother knew instantly that this was a flawed conclusion. Being an engineer, he knew that engines, like that steam engine, perform more efficiently when cooled - and that mist of oil was doing just that, cooling the engine, and so making it run faster, until the oil was dried up.
This wasn't an experiment as such, but you get the picture - this fellow would have looked very silly at a science fair by using his steam engine to "investigate what oil lubricates the engine best," for instance.
But lubrication wouldn't be measured at all, which would make the experiment a failure, a waste of time.
2006-09-10 19:32:09 · answer #2 · answered by wm_omnibus 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A failed experiment is NOT one that goes against your hypothesis, because you still learned something, even if it is not what you expected. A failed experiment would be one in which you learned nothing. Like, for example, if you realized that your measurements were flawed, so all the data is incorrect, so you can't draw any conclusions at all.
2006-09-10 19:06:41 · answer #3 · answered by s_e_e 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
behind every experiment there is reason why the experiment is being performed. now if the goal for that reason was not met than the experiment was a failure.
2006-09-10 18:59:47 · answer #4 · answered by newyorktocountry 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When your conclusions nullify or oppose your hypothesis.
However, failed experiments can lead to new discoveries.
2006-09-10 18:58:56 · answer #5 · answered by Superfudge 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋