The Ever-Evolving World of Science · Lesson 3 of 4
Ask the Question
“Turn given answers into creative questions, then learn how to shape some of your questions into investigations.”
• Explain why making questions is part of scientific thinking. • Create several different questions or situations that fit the same answer. • Distinguish an imaginative possibility from a claim supported by evidence. • Make a broad question more specific by choosing what to observe or compare. • Identify questions that can be explored through observation or a safe, fair test.
Begin with the answer
Usually someone gives you a question and you try to find the answer. Now reverse that direction. Imagine that you already have a reply but do not know what was asked. Could you invent a question or a situation that makes the reply sensible, surprising, or funny?
This reversal helps you practise something scientists need: framing questions. An answer by itself often leaves out important context. For example, the number 42 could describe a count, a measurement, or a detail in an imagined story. The question tells you what the answer is about.
Begin with the reply “Just make it half!” It could answer a question about dividing a cake into two equal shares. It might also be advice about shortening an essay, cutting a sheet of paper to fit an envelope, or reducing the length of a dance. The same words can belong to very different situations.
Problem
Create two different questions or situations that could lead to “Just make it half!”
- 1.Choose one meaning of the reply: make two equal parts. A possible question is “How can we share this cake equally between two people?”
- 2.Choose another meaning: reduce a length or amount. A possible situation is that a dance routine needs to be shortened because there is too little time.
- 3.Check that the reply follows naturally from each situation. If not, add a little context or revise the question.
- 4.Notice that neither possibility prevents another student from making a different, equally suitable question.
Question the Answer
Work with the four prompts below. First read the answer, pause, and write at least two possible questions or short situations for it. Let one be everyday and let another be unusual. The aim is to explore possibilities, so there is no single correct question waiting to be discovered.
| Given answer | Your creative task |
|---|---|
| Just add some milk. | Invent two situations in which this advice could make sense. |
| Because the cat’s teeth were crooked. | Invent two questions or stories for which this would be a reply. |
| Don’t panic, I have my towel. | Invent two situations in which the towel could help. |
| 42 | Invent two interesting questions that could give this answer. Go beyond a simple sum or a familiar quotation. |
Practice Problems
- Answer: “Just add some milk.” Write at least two different questions or situations that could lead to this reply.
- Answer: “Because the cat’s teeth were crooked.” Write at least two different questions or situations that could lead to this reply.
- Answer: “Don’t panic, I have my towel.” Write at least two different questions or situations that could lead to this reply.
- Answer: “42.” Write at least two interesting questions or situations that could lead to this reply. Avoid an obvious arithmetic question.
- Choose one of your questions. Exchange it with a friend and ask them to invent another situation for the same answer. Explain how the two situations differ.
Here are some possibilities to help if you are stuck. “How can I make this bowl of breakfast cereal less dry?” could lead to the milk reply. In a comic story, “Why did the artist draw the cat’s smile at a slant?” could lead to the crooked-teeth reply. After a small splash of clean water, “How will we dry this wet patch?” could lead to the towel reply. “How many paper stars did our group hang before we ran out of string?” could have the answer 42.
These are examples, not an answer key. A cat in a story can have invented features, and the number of paper stars is part of an imagined situation. You have not learned a scientific fact about cats or counted real stars merely by writing the questions. Creativity makes possibilities; evidence helps decide claims about the real world.
You may change the setting, the speaker, or what happened just before the reply. If a friend cannot see the connection, explain your context. Keep exploring instead of trying to guess one hidden question.
Problem
How can you make a more interesting question for the answer 42 than simply asking for an easy sum?
- 1.Choose something that can have a number, such as paper models, collected observations, or steps along a marked route.
- 2.Add a situation: a class is making paper birds for a display.
- 3.Ask a question that fits: “How many paper birds were finished before the display board was full?”
- 4.The answer can be 42 in the imagined situation. If you describe a real display, you would need to count rather than assume the number.
- 5.Another student could use 42 in a completely different story or investigation.
From imaginative to investigable
A funny question and a scientific investigation have different purposes. A story may ask what would happen if a towel could fly. You can enjoy that question without having a real flying towel to investigate. A question about how much water two towels absorb, however, can be explored by observation and comparison.
A question for which you can plan to collect relevant evidence through observation, measurement, comparison, or an experiment.
Some questions are broad starting points. “What makes a paper plane fly well?” does not yet say what “well” means. Does it mean travelling farther, staying in the air longer, or landing near a target? Choosing one meaning makes the question clearer. You can then choose one feature to compare and decide what to record.
A specific question is not automatically a good investigation. You also need a way to gather evidence safely and a comparison that fits the question. You might investigate changes in a shadow by watching at several times. You might compare towel materials by a safe test. Different questions need different methods.
Problem
A student wonders, “Which of these two towels absorbs more water?” How could the question become clearer?
- 1.Choose comparable pieces of the two towel materials and state the size used.
- 2.Choose what to record: for example, compare how much measured clean water each dry piece absorbs using the same procedure.
- 3.Keep relevant conditions similar, such as piece size, starting dryness, soaking time, and draining time.
- 4.Repeat the comparison with fresh dry pieces and record the results. Follow an adult’s guidance and avoid spills.
- 5.Limit the conclusion to the materials and conditions investigated. The more absorbent sample is not automatically the better towel for every purpose.
If one towel looks wetter, that alone may not tell you how much water it absorbed. It may have started wetter or received more water. Choose evidence that actually answers the question and keep the comparison fair.
Questions can lead to other questions
Suppose your comparison supports the idea that one towel material absorbs more water under your test conditions. A new question follows: does thickness affect the amount absorbed? Or you might ask which material dries sooner. A useful answer can open a new direction rather than ending your curiosity.
You can also improve questions through discussion. A friend might notice that you did not say what would be measured or that you changed several things together. Revising a question is part of thoughtful exploration. You do not have to begin with a perfect question to make progress.
Check your understanding
These questions check the process of making and investigating questions. They do not assign one correct response to any of the four creative prompts.
Quiz
What is the main purpose of Question the Answer?
Two students create different situations that both fit “Just add some milk.” What should they conclude?
Which question is most clearly ready for a simple investigation?
Why should you clarify “fly well” before investigating paper planes?
What is the difference between an invented story and a scientific claim about a real event?
- Choose one of the four answer prompts and write a third question that is very different from your first two. Explain why the answer still fits.
- Write a question about a shadow that could be investigated by repeated observation. State what you would record.
- Improve “Which plane is best?” into a specific question that names one feature to compare and one result to measure.
- A student compares a large dry towel with a small damp towel. Identify two reasons why the comparison may not answer a question about material alone.
- Invent a question for the answer “It changed colour.” Then write a more specific question that could guide a safe investigation.
- Choose a result from an imaginary towel investigation. Write a new question that could follow, without claiming the imaginary result has actually been observed.
Key Takeaways
• Making questions is an essential part of scientific thinking. • The same answer can fit several creative questions or situations. • The four creative prompts have no single correct question. • Imagination suggests possibilities; evidence supports claims about real events. • A useful investigation question makes clear what to observe or compare. • Questions can be refined through discussion, and answers can lead to further questions.