Lab Partners:_______________________________________________________

Lab Group #: ____________________________

Date:__________________

To become a Master Detective (Problem Solver) you must rely on your 5 senses to gather the
facts that you need to develop solutions and solve problems.
Are you ready to begin?

THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS CUBE

Many years ago there was an alchemist named Marlin (his cousin Merlin was much more
famous, a fact that Marlin always resented; he felt that if only he had met King Arthur first
things would have been different) who spent many hours in his laboratory trying to find a way to
turn lead into gold. While he never succeeded he did find out a lot about many things. The
people in his village were always bringing him strange objects and asking him to tell them what
these things were and how they could use them. One day a mysterious cube appeared. This cube
was identical to the one you have before you. Your job is to gather (as did Marlin) as many facts
about this cube as you can. Remember, though, you can list only facts about this object (not, I
think it is___). At the end we will make inferences based on the facts we collect. Use the
questions below as a guide to gathering your facts.

Guided Questions:

Draw a picture of the cube.

What color is the cube? _______________________

How does the cube look? Shiny or dull? Flat or bumpy? ________________

How does the cube feel? Hard or soft? Rough or smooth? Warm or cold? Solid or crumbly?
_____________________________________________________________________________

How big is the cube? ___________________ (use a tape measurer the length and width)

Shake the cube. Does it make any sound? What if you drop the cube on the table? Is the sound
loud or soft? Is there a sound at all? ________________________________________________
Explain the smell of the cube Does it have any smell?
____________________________________________________________________________

Try to break the cube apart. Is this easy or hard to do? Did you use your fingers or a tool?

___________________________________________________________________________

Put a small piece of the cube in some water. Does it dissolve (disappear)?

Draw a picture of what happens.

Based on your observations what do you think this cube is?

_________________________________

Discuss in your group what is the difference between a fact and an inference?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

What are your facts based on? What is your inference based on?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________