Where will the wood float?
This resource for level 4 students illustrates how to critique evidence in response to an investigation about wood floating in water and oil.
About this resource
This resource illustrates how an item ("Where will wood float?") from the Assessment Resource Bank could be refocused to provide an opportunity for students to strengthen their capability to critique evidence in the context of science.
Where will the wood float?
Learning focus
Students explore the importance of having enough data to draw conclusions.
Learning activity
"Where will wood float?" on Assessment Resource Banks
The original Assessment Resource Bank activity involves the students predicting, observing and explaining where a piece of wood floats in a container of water and oil.
After the students have carried out the existing activity, ask:
- Do you think you would get the same result if you repeated the activity with the same piece of wood? How sure are you? What could you do to be more certain of your answer?
- Would you get the same result if you repeated the activity with a different piece of wood? How sure are you? What could you do to be more certain of your answer?
- Brainstorm as many things as you can that might affect the results. (For example: size of the wood, type of wood, shape, the way it was placed in the container, how dry or waterlogged it is, etc.)
- Wood always floats on water and oil.
- Some wood floats on water and oil. [This is the only statement supported by the data.]
- Only small pieces of wood float.
- All wood eventually sinks.
To evaluate the trustworthiness of data, students need to know quite a lot about the qualities of scientific tests so they know what questions to ask. Scientists are cautious about the claims they make, as it takes only one piece of disconfirming evidence to disprove a theory.
Developing an appreciation of how evidence in science is generated supports students becoming scientifically literate, that is, to participate as critical, informed, and responsible citizens in a society in which science plays a significant role. This is the purpose of science in The 2007 New Zealand Curriculum.
What are we looking for?
Do students realise one trial provides insufficient evidence to make a claim?
Do students realise the importance of evidence that disconfirms a statement?
This adaptation could be used whenever students are carrying out investigations, regardless of the context. Science fairs would provide a rich context.
- Marine Metre Squared (L3, 4 & 5) Marine Metre Squared