ACARA v9 CONTENT DESCRIPTION “compare observations with predictions and others’ observations, consider if investigations are fair and identify further questions with guidance”
Builds on making and recording careful observations. Now we put two things side by side: what we guessed would happen, and what we really saw. We also peek at a friend’s results and ask whether the test was fair, so that even six year olds begin to think like scientists.
Did it happen the way you guessed?
Before a test, you make a guess about what will happen. That guess is called a prediction. After you watch, you ask one simple question: did what I saw match what I guessed? When they match, your guess fit the world well. When they do not match, that is not a mistake, it is a surprise that teaches you something new.
Match what you saw to what you guessed
Before the test you guessed: a heavier ball rolls down the ramp faster. Tap each thing you saw to say if it agrees with your guess.
Claim: My guess: the heavy ball will roll down the ramp faster than the light ball.
The heavy ball reached the bottom before the light ball.
The heavy ball got to the floor while the light ball was still rolling.
The ramp was painted a nice shade of blue.
When we let them go at the same time, the heavy ball won.
We did the test just after lunch on a Friday.
Decide whether each statement is evidence for the claim, or not.
What did your friend see?
You are not the only one watching. A friend can do the same test and write down what they saw too. When you put your results next to theirs, you can check if you both saw the same thing. If your bars look the same, you can trust the answer more. If one is much taller, that is a new thing to talk about and wonder why.
My counts next to a friend’s counts
You both rolled the same ball five times and counted how many floor tiles it crossed. Switch the view to compare the runs.
Each run lands near six or seven tiles, so the rolls agree with each other. Results that stay close like this are easier to trust. If a friend’s counts looked very different, you would ask what was not the same between your tests.
A surprise that did not fit
Sometimes one result jumps out. Maybe four rolls crossed about six tiles, but one crossed only two. A result that does not fit the others is a surprise. Smart scientists do not rub it out. They find it, do that test again to check it, and ask a new question: what was different that time? Maybe the ball hit a bump, or someone nudged the ramp.
Spot the roll that does not fit
Here are the tiles crossed in five rolls of the same ball on the same ramp. Click the one roll that is very different from the others.
Click the point that does not fit the pattern of the others.
Was the test fair, and what next?
A test is fair when you keep everything the same except the one thing you are testing. Same ramp, same starting line, same gentle push. When you compare your results, your guess, and your friend’s results, you can ask whether the test was fair and what you would like to find out next. That new question is where the next investigation begins.
Quick self-check
1. You guess a ball will roll far. Then you watch it roll. What do you do next?
2. Your guess matched what you saw. That means your guess was...
3. Why is it useful to look at a friend’s results too?
4. A fair test means you...
5. One result looks very different from all the others. The best idea is to...