Grade 7 · Science · Unit 10 of 16
Fair Tests & Bias
Hypotheses, variables, evidence and peer review
What your child practises
Children practise how scientists test predictions: writing a hypothesis, controlling variables, collecting data honestly and spotting bias.
Manitoba Curriculum learning outcome: SCI.7.C.3, SCI.7.D.1, SCI.7.D.2 · scientific practices, collecting data and reducing bias, and hypotheses, experiments and variables
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which helps reduce bias?
- Throw out results you dislike
- Change the data
- Record all results, including surprising ones
- Test once
Record all results, including surprising ones
Hint: Honest records reduce bias.
Question 2
Why do scientists change only one variable at a time?
- To save paper
- So they know what caused the change
- To make it harder
- To avoid measuring
So they know what caused the change
Hint: More than one change would make results confusing.
Question 3
Why is peer review useful?
- It makes results secret
- It helps find mistakes and bias
- It makes experiments longer
- It removes all data
It helps find mistakes and bias
Hint: Reviewers catch problems the first scientist missed.
Question 4
In a fair test, the variable you change on purpose is the…
- conclusion
- dependent variable
- independent (manipulated) variable
- control group only
independent (manipulated) variable
Hint: You change one thing at a time.
Question 5
Variables that must stay the same in a fair test are called…
- hypotheses
- controlled variables
- opinions
- results
controlled variables
Hint: Keeping them the same makes the test fair.
Question 6
When an experiment does not support your hypothesis, you should…
- stop science forever
- change the data
- hide the results
- report what happened and revise your thinking
report what happened and revise your thinking
Hint: Unexpected results are part of learning.