ACARA v9 CONTENT DESCRIPTION “suggest and follow safe procedures to investigate questions and test predictions”
Builds on testing a guess in a safe way. This time we plan the safe steps ourselves: we make a prediction, choose a safe way to run the test, keep the test fair, and tidy up at the end.
Plan safe steps before you test
Before you start a test, you make a prediction. A prediction is a sensible guess about what will happen. Then you plan safe steps to test it. You ask an adult for help with anything warm or heavy, you keep your space clear, and you only use things that are safe to touch. You write your steps in order and then you follow them.
Pick the safer way to fill the cups
You want to find out which cup keeps water warmest. Each way fills the cups, but one is safer. Tap a way to see what is good and what is risky.
Your prediction is that the thick cup will keep the warm water warmest. To test it, you need to fill each cup with warm water.
Choose a response to see what is gained and what is given up.
Keep the test fair
A fair test gives you an answer you can trust. To compare the cups fairly, you keep everything the same except the one thing you are testing. You use the same amount of warm water, you start at the same time, and you keep the cups in the same room. The only thing that is different is the cup itself.
Follow the steps and change just one thing
You want to know which cup keeps warm water warmest. To find out, you keep everything the same and change only one thing.
You pour warm water into a thin cup and a thick cup. To keep the test fair, hold everything else the same so only the cup is different.
Variable being tested: The kind of cup: a thin cup or a thick cup (this one we change)
The same amount of warm water in both cups
Both cups starting at the same time
Both cups standing in the same room
Not a fair test yet: more than one thing is changing, so you could not tell which change caused the result. Hold every other variable the same.
Which actions are safe?
While you test, some actions keep you safe and some do not. Asking an adult to pour warm water, keeping the floor clear, and washing your hands are safe. Carrying a full kettle of boiling water or leaving a wet spill on the floor is not safe. A careful tester can tell the safe actions apart from the risky ones.
Sort the safe actions from the risky ones
A safe tester does the safe things. Read each action and decide if it is a safe way to run the test.
Claim: These are the safe ways to run the cup test.
You ask an adult to pour the warm water for you.
You keep the floor clear so no one trips over your cups.
You carry a full kettle of boiling water across the room by yourself.
You tip out the water, dry the spills, and wash your hands at the end.
You leave a wet puddle on the floor for the next person.
Decide whether each statement is evidence for the claim, or not.
Why this matters
Every good test starts with a safe plan and a sensible prediction, and it ends with a tidy clean up. When you ask for help with warm things, keep your space clear, change just one thing, and wash your hands at the end, you can find real answers and keep everyone safe. This is the way scientists work too.
Quick self-check
1. You want to test which cup keeps warm water warmest. What is the safe way to fill the cups?
2. Your prediction is that the thick cup keeps the water warmest. A prediction is a...
3. To make the cup test fair, you should...
4. You are testing which surface a toy car rolls fastest on. What is a safe place to do it?
5. You have finished testing. What is the safe last step?