Students wanted to see if reward or punishment worked best when training puppies. One student brought in her puppy and a group of students took it for a walk. When it walked beside them they gave it a treat. It did not get a treat when it pulled on the lead. The next day another student brought in his puppy. They took it for a walk but this time when it pulled on the lead they spoke sternly to it and when it walked beside them they ignored it. The next day both puppies were brought in and taken for walks. They counted how many times each puppy pulled on the lead. Is this a fair test?
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Students wanted to see if and "energy plus" battery lasted longer than a "El cheapo" battery. They put the "energy plus" battery into a torch and turned in on and recorded the time. The next day when they came to school they discovered that the torch was not working, so they recorded the time and calculated how long the battery lasted. They then put the "El cheapo" battery into a small portable fan and turned it on and recorded the time. When they came back after lunch they notice the fan had stopped working so they recorded the time and calculated how long the battery lasted. Is this a fair test?
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Students wanted to reduce the amount of litter left in the school playground. Every day for a week after lunch they collected all the litter and measured its mass. They then ran a campaign with posters, announcements and a competition to raise awareness and try to change behaviour. Two weeks after the campaign they repeated their litter collection and measurement. Is this a fair test?
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Students wanted to investigate whether take-away foods made you fat. They all measured their weight and then had a take-away meal. Some had fish and chips, some had pizza, some had hamburgers. They then measured their weight again and concluded that fish and chips makes you put on more weight than pizza. Is this a fair test?
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Students wanted to find out if "blotto" was a better paper for absorbing spills that "sucko". They spilt one cup of water on the floor and tested how many sheets of each paper towel it took to absorb the liquid. Is this a fair test?
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