Thinking Science

Lesson 1: What varies?

What is Thinking Science?

A Thinking Science lesson is a different kind of

Science lesson.

There are 30 of these lessons spread out over Year 7

and 8 roughly one every 2 weeks.

These are brain-training lessons and we focus on

how you think about problems, not just on right answers!

What do you do in a Thinking Science

lesson?

You will work with other students in groups of 3 or 4.

You will try to solve problems together.

You will think about how you and others solved the
problems.

Best of all, there is NO HOMEWORK!

Why is Thinking Science so important?

Just like playing a sport or learning a musical instrument,

it takes practice if you want to improve.

Thinking Science lessons help you improve your ability

to think by challenging you to solve problems.

The more you practice thinking, the better you get at it.

Before We Begin
WITHOUT SPEAKING
1.Organise
2.Arrange

yourself into groups of 3 or 4.

yourselves so your group members can face one

another.
3.Give

each member of your group a number from 1 to 4

THEN
Fold your arms and face forward to indicate you are ready
to begin!

Roles for Today

1.

Person 1 you are the SCRIBE

2.

Person 2 you are the LEADER

3.

Person 3 you are the ENCOURAGER

4.

Person 4 you are the EQUIPMENT

MANAGER

Todays KEY words

Variable

Value

Relationship

Question
What do scientists do?

Testing Connections or Relationships

1.

Black cars have more accidents than yellow cars.

2.

When the temperature is hotter, snakes are more active.

Variables and their values

A variable is something that can change or have
different forms.
A value is the form a variable can take.

In our examples
1.

Black cars have more accidents than yellow cars.

VARIABLE

VALUE

colour

yellow/black

number of accidents

lots/few

1.

When the temperature is hotter, snakes are more active

VARIABLE

VALUE

temperature

hotter/colder

snake activity

greater/lesser

How do these books differ, or vary?

VARIABLE

VALUES

Activity 1: Coloured Shapes

Set 1

Activity 1: Coloured Shapes

Set 2
Use this set to
complete Table
(2) on your
notesheet.
As a group, can
you answer the
rest of the
questions?

Activity 2: Coloured Containers

I have four containers

blue
blue
red
red

small
small
large
large

150 g
250 g
150 g
250 g

Activity 2: Coloured containers

Is there a relationship between size and weight?

There is no relationship

What relationship is there between colour and

weight?

There is no relationship

Workcard 1
Boiling

The higher the flame,

the more bubbles

Candle

The taller the candle, the

shorter the holder

Eggs

No relationship between
egg and spoon size

Worksheet 1 (continued)
Sausages

The more
sausages, the
smaller they are

Flowers

The more clouds,

the fewer flowers

Finally

Think about your daily life.

Can you think of an example of a relationship between

two variables?

List the variables, their values and the relationship

between them if there is one.

Now, if you were to plot them on a graph, what might

they look like?