A1.1 Research
A research question is answered by records, and a precise record beats a vague one: "the salt vanished in 40 seconds in the warm glass and 95 in the cold" beats "faster in warm water". Cite every source; where two disagree, say which shows its data.
Example
Find out: What lives in the creek behind the arena, and how has that changed over ten years?
- Sample now: net, tray, count each kind, photograph; record date, water temperature, weather.
- Sources: the conservation authority's earlier surveys of the same reach.
- Compare kinds present then and now; report the kinds that appear in only one survey as uncertain, not gone.
A1.2 Experimentation
Example
Test: Does stirring change how fast sugar dissolves?
- Same: two glasses of water at the same temperature, one sugar cube each, a timer.
- Change: only stirring. Time each cube until no grain remains; repeat three times.
- Report the average times and the one thing that could still have differed — the cubes' sizes.
A1.3 Engineering design
Example
Design a craft-stick bridge that holds the most masses before sagging.
- Criteria: masses held before the deck sags past a mark. Constraints: forty sticks, glue, a fixed span.
- Load one mass at a time; record where it sagged first.
Example
Explain how to fix the bridge when it sags at mid-span.
- Add a brace under the mid-span; test again; keep the change if it held more.
A1.4 Safety
Example
Match the habit to the symbol, and name the first move after an accident.
- Flame: kept well clear of flames, sparks and heaters. Corrosive: gloves on first, and not one drop on skin.
- Irritant: hands washed the minute the work is done. Environmental: only ever into the marked container, never a drain.
Remember: Accident: the bench steps clear and an adult hears about it immediately.
A1.5 Communicating findings
Example
Share the dissolving test with the class and with a water-plant operator.
- Class: a bar graph of average times, stirred and unstirred; the words solute, solvent, rate, variable.
- Operator: one line — stirring roughly halved the time — and the caveat about cube size.
- Both: what you would test next.
Summary
- Precise records with sources; disagreements named.
- One variable; repeat; report the leftover difference.
- Criteria, constraints, load, brace.
- Symbol habits; step clear, tell an adult.
- Graph for peers; one line for the expert.