ACARA v9 CONTENT DESCRIPTION “compare findings with those of others, consider if investigations were fair, identify questions for further investigation and draw conclusions”
Builds on planning and running a fair test. Two groups have each counted how many steel paperclips one magnet can pick up, and they got different answers. The job now is to make sense of those results: compare them, check that both tests were fair, draw a conclusion, and think of a new question to investigate next.
Compare your findings with another group
When you finish a test, it helps to put your results next to another group's. Suppose your group found a magnet picked up 12 paperclips, and another group found it picked up only 5. That gap is a clue. It might mean one group used a different magnet, different paperclips, or counted in a different way. Comparing findings is not about who is right; it is about making the answer stronger.
Two groups' paperclip counts side by side
Both groups tested the same five magnets and counted how many steel paperclips each magnet could lift. Switch between the table, bars and line to compare the findings.
My group's counts. Another group tested the same five magnets and counted 11, 7, 9, 17 and 5 paperclips. The two sets rise and fall in the same order, so the groups agree: Magnet D lifted the most and Magnet E the fewest. Findings that match across groups can be trusted more.
Was each test fair?
Before you trust a comparison, check that both tests were fair. A fair test keeps everything the same except the one thing you are studying. If your group used new straight paperclips and the other group used bent ones stuck together, or held the magnet at a different distance, the counts cannot be compared fairly. When findings disagree, an unfair step is often the reason, so it is the first thing to look for.
Find the count that does not match
Five groups each counted how many paperclips the same magnet picked up from the same pile. Four groups got close counts, but one is far off. Click the reading that does not match the others.
Click the point that does not fit the pattern of the others.
Sort the differences: unfair step or real finding?
Some differences between groups come from an unfair step, like using a stronger magnet. Others are real findings that the evidence truly supports. The conclusion should be built only from the real findings. The question was how many paperclips the magnet can lift, so sort which statements the combined evidence supports, and which differences are just signs of an unfair test.
Which statements does the combined evidence support?
The conclusion should rest only on findings both groups can trust. Decide which statements the paperclip counts actually support.
Claim: Magnet D lifts the most steel paperclips, and a stronger magnet lifts more clips.
Both groups counted Magnet D lifting the most paperclips of the five.
Across both groups, the stronger magnets lifted more paperclips than the weaker ones.
In every test, the magnet lifted no plastic paperclips, only steel ones.
One group used a much stronger magnet, so their counts were always higher.
The magnet our group used was a cheerful shade of red.
Decide whether each statement is evidence for the claim, or not.
Draw a conclusion and ask a new question
A conclusion is a short statement of what the combined results show about the question. It must come from the data, not from what you hoped for. Both groups found that stronger magnets lifted more steel paperclips and that Magnet D lifted the most. Good science does not stop there: each finding points to a new question, such as whether holding the magnet closer to the pile lifts even more clips. Step through how a conclusion takes shape and a fresh question opens up.
From compared results to a conclusion and a next question
Each step adds a finding the two groups agreed on. Watch the shared conclusion take shape, then see the new question it opens up.
New evidence (1 of 4)
Both groups agree Magnet D lifted the most paperclips and Magnet E the fewest.
Accepted model: Different magnets lift different numbers of steel paperclips.
Add the next piece of evidence and watch whether the accepted model holds or has to change.
Why this matters
Comparing your findings with others, checking that each test was fair, drawing a conclusion from the combined evidence, and asking a new question are the steps that turn a single experiment into real science. Scientists, doctors and engineers all compare their results with other people's before they trust an answer.
Quick self-check
1. Your group and another group both counted how many steel paperclips one magnet can pick up. Why is it worth comparing the two counts?
2. Your group lifted 12 paperclips with the magnet, but another group lifted only 5. The best next step is to...
3. A test is fair when the two groups...
4. After comparing the paperclip counts, a good question for further investigation would be:
5. One group reports lifting 40 paperclips while every other group lifted about 11. What does that one reading tell you?