Fair Test & Accuracy

P4
 What is a fair test?
• A fair test ensures that the results of your
experiment are only due to the variable you
change.
• Change only the variable being tested
• All other variables should be kept constant.

2
 Identify the variables that need to
be changed and kept constant in the
experiment.

3
 PRACTICE 1
Matter expands when heated. Muthu heated each of the different solids and gases
for 5 minutes in the Science laboratory to find out how each solid and gas
expands. He recorded the results in the tables as shown below.
Solid Volume before heating Volume after heating
A 50cm3 62cm3 Variable to
Result B 50cm3 59cm3
C 50cm3 55cm3 change
Gas Volume before heating Volume after heating
X 50cm3 68cm3
Y 50cm3 72cm3
Z 50cm3 65cm3

(a) Did Muthu conduct a fair test? Give your reasons.

What are the variables to change and what are the results ?
Answer :Yes, he kept the volume of each solid and gas before
heating the same.
(b) What can you conclude about the expansion of the solids
and gases in Muthu’s experiment?
Answer : Gases expand more than liquids.
(c) Do you think water expands when heated? Why?
Answer: Yes, water is a matter and it occupies space.
 PRACTICE 2
Gerard wanted to find out if a seed needs sunlight in order to germinate. He
placed three similar seeds in two similar containers. The same amount of water
was added to the cotton wool in the containers.

Variable Variable Results

to keep to
constant change

Both set-ups were placed outside Gerard’s house, under the sun. Three days
later, Gerard observed that the seeds in both set-ups germinated.
Qn: Did Gerard conduct a fair test? Explain your answer.
a) Yes. All other variables, except for the presence of sunlight,
were kept the same in both set-ups .

5
(b) If Gerard only had 2 transparent boxes (instead of 1 transparent box
and 1 black box), where could he place the two set-ups to carry out his
investigation?

Place one of the set-ups in a dark cupboard/ (anywhere away from the
sun) and the other one under the sun.
 PRACTICE 3
Isabel set up the experiment as shown below. She wanted to find out if the size of the glass tube
affected the rate of the water flowing into the bottle. She poured some water into the funnel and
recorded the time the water took to flow into the bottle.
Results Variable to
change

(a) In order to ensure a fair test, choose the variables that she should keep constant or
change. Put a tick ( √ ) in the appropriate boxes.
Variables Keep constant Changed
Other  
The type of funnel
variables to
The size of the bottle     
 
be kept The amount of water    
constant The size of the glass tube  

What is the variable to change & what is the Results
(b) Isabel carried out the experiment and recorded her observations in
the table below.

Size of glass tube Time taken for water to flow

(mm) into the bottle (sec)
3 30
5 20
8 13
10 8

(c) What conclusion could Isabel draw from the experiment?

b) The larger the size of glass tube, the less time taken for
water to flow into the container.
 PRACTICE 4

Adam wanted to find out how much light can pass through different cloths. He set up
an experiment as shown below.

Result Variable to
change

By shining a beam of light on one side of a cloth, he took readings from a

data logger light sensor on the other side. He repeated the experiment using
different types of cloth.

State 2 variables that should be kept constant to ensure that the test is a fair
one.

What are the variables to change ?

Think of other variables that can also affect the Results ( and so must be kept
constant
*He should keep the distance of the datalogger from the cloth the same.
*He should keep the distance of the torchlight from the cloth the same.
*He should use the same torch of the same brightness.
 PRACTICE 5
Roy set up the experiment shown below. He attached four different objects, A, B, C and D, one at a time, to the
cardboard and fastened it with a tape.

He observed the spring coil after he had placed a strong

magnet 5cm from each object and recorded his observation in
Results
the table below.
Object Length of spring coil
A Decrease
B Increase
Variable to
C Increase
change
D Remained the same
Think of
variables that
Qn : Name two other factors Roy must keep the same can affect the
throughout the experiment so that his test is a fair test. length of the
strength of spring/ distance between object and magnet/ spring
length of object/ thickness of object/ number of coil on the
spring/ size of spring coil/ type of magnet
10
Roy set up the experiment shown below. He attached four different objects, A, B, C and D, one at a time,
to the cardboard and fastened it with a tape.

He observed the spring coil after he had placed a strong magnet 5cm
from each object and recorded his observation in the table below.
Object Length of spring coil
A Decrease
B Increase
C Increase
D Remained the same

Put a tick (  ) in the appropriate boxes below to show if each of the following
statements are true, false or not possible to tell.
Statement True False Not possible
to tell
(i) Object B is a magnet.       
(ii) Object D is not a magnet .       
(iii) Object C is made of iron.       
 PRACTICE 6
Ai Lian set up an experiment using 4 similar pots of balsam plants. At the end of the
experiment, she recorded her results in the table below.
  Pot A Pot B Pot C Pot D
Growing time (days) 25 25 25 25
Amount of nutrients (g) 4 6 8 10
Water added (ml per day) 100 100 100 100
Height of plant (cm) 35 43 54 48

(a) Write down a possible hypothesis for Ai Lian’s experiment.

A hypothesis is a prediction about how the change in a

variable will affect the result (something to be measured)
What is the variable changed & what is the result ?
Answer: The more nutrients given, the taller the plant will
grow (up to a certain limit of nutrients given only).

(b) Other than the variables shown above, what other variable should be kept the
same?

Think of other variables which if changed, will affect the Results.

Answer:
The location where the plants are placed should be the same.
The type of nutrients used should be the same.
(c) Based on the results obtained from Pot A to Pot C only, what
pattern do you observe?

Answer: Based on pots A to C, the more nutrients given, the taller the
plants grow.
 ACCURACY

Chia Meng poured oil into two similar bottles using two set-ups, A and B, as
shown in the diagram below

Set-up A Set-up B

Chia Meng noticed that the bottle in set-up B filled up faster than that in set-up A.
He repeated the experiment a number of times.
How did repeating the experiment make the results more accurate?
Repeating the experiment helps us to ensure that errors are prevented.