Mississippi Science FSL.3C.5
The Standard
- FSL.3C
- Students will apply scientific literacy and thinking skills to analyze scientific investigations found in various experimental designs including, but not limited to, those found in sample ACT science passages.
Determine which additional trials could be performed in an investigation to enhance the results of an experimental design.
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 look at an investigation and decide which extra trials would improve the results. They choose trials that repeat a test or check another level of the tested variable, while keeping other conditions the same.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given one plant in each fertilizer group, a student suggests testing more plants in both groups under the same light and water. They explain that the extra trials help show whether the first plants were unusual.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think measuring the same plant more often is the same as testing more plants. They may change light and fertilizer together, then blame any difference on the fertilizer.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A student grows one bean plant with fertilizer and one without for 14 days. Name two extra trials that would improve the test, and explain what each would show.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Launch one paper airplane with and without a paper clip five times per setup, then compare the recorded distances.
Show a class one plant per fertilizer group and ask, “Which extra trials would help us trust the result, and why?”
Give pairs cards labeled “repeat each group,” “change sunlight too,” and “add a fertilizer dose”; have them sort the trials and explain their choices.
Plan three battery-life trials with and without low-power mode, starting from full charge each time and keeping apps and brightness the same.
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Related Standards
- FSL.3A.5
Analyze data sets from experiments for patterns and trends and identify any weaknesses in the experimental designs.
- FSL.3C.2
Determine the validity of scientific questions (e.g., hypothesis) and variables for complex experimental designs.
- FSL.3C.3
Select and describe an alternate method for testing a hypothesis.
- FSL.3C.4
Predict how modifying the experimental design or adding another measurement in an experimental design will affect results of the experiment.
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