Item MO068003: If a student makes a drawing of how he thinks evaporation works and it turns out it was incorrect, he should make a new version that more accurately represents what he now knows about evaporation.
A student draws a diagram that shows how he thinks water evaporates from a wet washcloth sealed in a plastic bag. Based on his drawing, he predicts that if the wet washcloth is left sealed in the plastic bag for several hours, water will evaporate from the washcloth and it will dry out. When he tries this experiment with a real washcloth, it turns out that his prediction was incorrect, and the washcloth is still wet. What should he do with his drawing?
- Because his drawing was not useful in making an accurate prediction, he should discard it and not use drawings anymore to make predictions.
- Because his drawing does not accurately represent what really happens, he should make a new version of it that better predicts what he actually observed with the real washcloth.
- Because his drawing represents how he thinks the world works, he should not change it but should be confident that he can use it to make accurate predictions.
- Because his drawing represents how he thinks the world works, he should use it to make other predictions and keep checking them until one of the predictions turns out to be correct.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1727 | 3104 | 56% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 1054 | 1926 | 55% |
| 9–12 | 673 | 1178 | 57% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 779 | 1475 | 53% |
| Female | 919 | 1574 | 58% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1594 | 2796 | 57% |
| Other | 101 | 245 | 41% |