Lab Partners: - Lab Group #: - Date
Lab Partners: - Lab Group #: - Date
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?
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:
How does the cube feel? Hard or soft? Rough or smooth? Warm or cold? Solid or crumbly?
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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?
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Try to break the cube apart. Is this easy or hard to do? Did you use your fingers or a tool?
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Put a small piece of the cube in some water. Does it dissolve (disappear)?
Discuss in your group what is the difference between a fact and an inference?
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What are your facts based on? What is your inference based on?
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