Mississippi Science FSL.3A.5
The Standard
- FSL.3A
- Students will apply science and engineering practices and skills to scientific investigations.
Analyze data sets from experiments for patterns and trends and identify any weaknesses in the experimental designs.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Nature of Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read tables and graphs, describe patterns, and use numbers to back up what they see. They check whether the experiment used fair comparisons, enough trials, and a control group when one is needed.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can describe the overall trend without ignoring results that differ from it. They can name a design flaw and explain how it limits the conclusion.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat one unusual result as the overall pattern. They may assume a difference between groups proves cause and effect, even when another variable changed too.
How to Assess It
- Give students plant heights of 12, 13, and 14 cm under one lamp and 17, 18, and 19 cm under another. Ask them to describe the pattern and explain why missing starting heights weaken a claim about growth.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups three large Brand A towel strips and three small Brand B strips; measure absorbed water, graph results, and flag strip size.
Write two lamp groups' final plant heights, 12, 13, 14 cm and 17, 18, 19 cm; ask whether these prove different growth.
Give pairs four paper towel trial tables, each with one flaw; award points for stating the absorption trend and naming the flaw.
Post two runners' times before and after a sports drink, 13 to 12 and 14 to 13 minutes; ask for the trend and practice confound.
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Printable FSL.3A.5 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- FSL.3C.1
Analyze the methods and choice of tools used in simple and complex experimental designs.
- FSL.3A.2
Analyze data from simple experiments and construct organized models (e.g., data tables, graphs) detailing results from the experiments.
- FSL.3C.2
Determine the validity of scientific questions (e.g., hypothesis) and variables for complex experimental designs.
- CHE.1.2
Design and conduct experiments using appropriate measurements, significant figures, graphical analysis to analyze data.
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