Plan a fair experiment
Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Question, Does the amount of light change how tall bean plants grow?; what is changed, blank; what is measured, blank. Ari tests whether the amount of light changes how tall bean plants grow. What is the independent variable?
- The color of the pots on the shelf
- The amount of light each plant gets
- The kind of soil, which stays the same
- How tall the bean plants grow by the end
What is changed, drop height: 50, 100, 150 cm; what is measured, blank. Bo drops a ball from 50, 100 and 150 cm and measures how high it bounces. What is the dependent variable?
- The kind of ball, kept the same
- The drop height of the ball
- How high the ball bounces
- The number of people watching the drop
Kira times how long sugar takes to dissolve in cold and in warm circle water. Which pair names the variables correctly?
- Changed: water temperature; measured: time to dissolve
- Changed: amount of sugar; measured: water temperature
- Changed: the glass; measured: the spoon
- Changed: time to dissolve; measured: water temperature
Luz tests whether salt makes ice cubes melt faster. Which plan is fair?
Two plates of ice cubes; one plate has a spoon of salt beside it. Investigation card: what is changed, salt or no salt; what is measured, time to melt. Two plates of ice cubes; one plate has a spoon of salt beside it. Investigation card: what is changed, salt or no salt; what is measured, time to melt. changed: salt or no salt measured: time to melt salt - Big cubes get salt; small cubes get no salt
- Same-size cubes in the same room, salt on one plate
- Salted cubes in the sun; plain cubes in the cool shade
- Test one plate of salted cubes and nothing else
Investigation card: what is changed, magnet A or B; what is measured, paper clips picked up. Milo compares two magnets by counting how many paper clips each picks up. Which choice would make the test unfair?
Two magnets beside a pile of paper clips. Investigation card: what is changed, magnet A or B; what is measured, paper clips picked up. Two magnets beside a pile of paper clips. Investigation card: what is changed, magnet A or B; what is measured, paper clips picked up. Magnet A Magnet B paper clips - Testing both magnets on the same table
- Using the same box of paper clips for both
- Using bigger paper clips for one magnet
- Counting the clips the same way each time
Question, Does light change plant height?; hypothesis, blank. Which is a testable hypothesis for Noah's plant-and-light experiment?
- If a plant gets more light, then it will grow taller
- Plants are the nicest living things to see in a garden
- Plants like light because it makes them happy
- Will the plants grow?
Which hypothesis can Pia test with a ball and a meter stick?
A ball and a meter stick standing against a wall. Investigation card: tools, ball, meter stick; hypothesis, blank. A ball and a meter stick standing against a wall. Investigation card: tools, ball, meter stick; hypothesis, blank. Investigation card tools ball meter stick hypothesis wall ball and meter stick - Red balls are more fun to bounce than blue balls or green ones
- Bouncing a ball is a good game
- If the drop height is greater, the ball will bounce higher
- Balls bounce because they want to go back up
Ren will test sugar in cold and warm circle water. Which hypothesis fits the experiment?
Two clear glasses of tap water, cold and warm, with a spoon of sugar for each. Investigation card: groups, cold tap water, warm tap water; hypothesis, blank. Two clear glasses of tap water, cold and warm, with a spoon of sugar for each. Investigation card: groups, cold tap water, warm tap water; hypothesis, blank. sugar sugar cold tap water warm tap water Investigation groups cold tap water warm tap water hypothesis - Warm water is nicer than cold water
- If the glass is blue, sugar will dissolve faster
- If the water is warmer, sugar will dissolve faster
- Sugar is better than salt
Why does Zee include a plate of ice cubes with no salt?
Two plates of ice cubes: one salted, one plain. Investigation card: groups, salted cubes, plain cubes. Two plates of ice cubes: one salted, one plain. Investigation card: groups, salted cubes, plain cubes. Investigation card groups salted cubes plain cubes - To make the test take longer to finish
- To use up the extra ice in the freezer
- It is not needed; the salted plate shows the answer
- To compare melting with and without salt
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A jar of water and two piles of bean seeds. Investigation card: what is changed, soaked or dry; what is measured, days to sprout.
Esme wants to know whether soaking seeds overnight helps them sprout sooner. Which plan has a control group?
- Soak all 20 seeds, then plant them
- Soak 10 seeds and keep 10 dry, then plant all 20
- Soak 1 seed and plant it by itself
- Soak 10 seeds; plant the dry ones in different soil