Name: ____________________ Partner: ____________________

Only you can help.. SAVE FRED!!!

(Reviewing the Scientific Method)

Our Wormy buddy, Fred, has been spending his summer boating around
the Great Lakes. But hes not too bright (after all, the brains of worms are
pretty small): Hes never learned how to swim and he never wears his life
preserver!!! (He could probably learn a few things about
safety from you 6th grade scientists!)
The worst has happened! His boat has capsized and hes stuck! Fortunately, his life preserver
is in the boat, but unfortunately he does not know how to reach it without falling off and
drowning.
Use the Scientific Method to figure out the steps you and your partner will take to save Fred:
How can you and your partner save Fred using only 4 paper clips? You may not touch
Fred, the boat, or the life preserver directly with your hands.
Step 1: Question:____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Materials:
1 Gummy Worm
1 Gummy life preserver
1 Plastic Cup
4 Paper Clips
Step 2: Research: Make some observations about Fred and each of the materials
listed above.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Step 3: Hypothesis: With your partner, write down in one or two sentences how
you two plan to save Fred. (Remember that a hypothesis is an if-then statement: I
think that if I do this, then this will happen)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Step 4: Test your hypothesis: Brainstorm the specifics of how to execute the
plan you stated in your hypothesis (You dont need to write anything
down for this step).
Step 5: Procedure: As you work with your partner to save Fred,
remember to write what you did STEP BY STEP! Anyone should
be able to read your procedure, follow it step by step, and get
the same results as you did.
When saving Fred, remember to follow the rules:
You must get the life preserver out from under the boat (the cup) and it has to
be put around Freds waist (his middle).
Fred, the boat, the life preserver can be touched only with the paper clips. NO
HANDS.
DO NOT EAT FRED OR THE LIFE PRESERVER!! (Why would you EAT someone
youre trying to save????)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
- Once you have successfully gotten the life preserver around Freds waist, let your
teacher know! Then go back and edit/re-write your procedure STEP BY STEP (how
did you use the paper clips to get the life preserver from under the boat? how did
you get it around his waist? etc.) You are editing and re-writing your procedure

because, chances are, you may have taken some extra steps that didnt work or
that you do not need, etc.

New Procedure:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Step 6: Observe/Collect Data: Draw THREE pictures in the boxes below
A. A picture of the set up before you saved Fred,
B. A picture of the set up during the saving procedure (Were the paper clips
holding something? Etc)
C. A picture showing how Fred looked like when he was saved.

Step7: Conclusion: You and your partner will each write a summary of your
experiment. It should include the following:

Restate the question you were trying to answer.

Explain the rules of the experiment
Was your Hypothesis on how to save Fred correct?
If it was not totally correct, how did you change your procedure to save
Fred?

Analyze the data there may be different ways to save Fred, but what
steps do you think are critical for solving this problem?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________