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Challenge: The Alien Plant Mystery — Level 6

Level 6 – The Analyzer General 9 min

A ASK K KNOW U UNDERSTAND U USE U UPGRADE

⚡ Challenge

The Alien Plant Mystery

Level 6 — The Analyzer | Ages 9–11 | Science | ⏱️ 10–12 minutes

This is a timed evidence challenge. Three scientists ran experiments on alien plants. One experiment is flawed. Your job: find the mistake, name the error, and explain why the conclusion is wrong.

Time Remaining 12:00

📋 Challenge Rules

You have 12 minutes to analyze all 3 experiments
Only ONE experiment is valid. The other two have fatal flaws
You must identify WHICH is wrong, WHAT error was made, and WHY it breaks the conclusion
Partial credit: 1 point for correct identification, 2 points for naming the error, 2 points for explanation

🔬 The Mystery

Scientists discovered alien plants that glow when healthy. They wanted to find out: What makes the alien plant glow brightest?

Each scientist tested a different factor. Here are their methods and results:

👨‍🔬 Scientist A — Dr. Light

Claim: “Plants glow brightest with MORE light.”

Plant	Light	Water	Soil	Glow (1-10)
A1	12 hours	100 ml	Standard	3
A2	16 hours	100 ml	Standard	7
A3	20 hours	100 ml	Standard	9

👩‍🔬 Scientist B — Dr. Water

Claim: “Plants glow brightest with MORE water.”

Plant	Light	Water	Soil	Glow (1-10)
B1	12 hours	50 ml	Standard	2
B2	16 hours	100 ml	Standard	7
B3	20 hours	150 ml	Standard	9

🧑‍🔬 Scientist C — Dr. Soil

Claim: “Plants glow brightest with SPECIAL soil.”

Plant	Light	Water	Soil	Glow (1-10)
C1	16 hours	100 ml	Standard	7
C2	16 hours	100 ml	Special	8
C3	16 hours	100 ml	Extra Special	9

🐥

Think: A fair test changes ONLY one thing at a time. If you change two things, you cannot know which one caused the result. Check: Did each scientist change only ONE variable?

🎯 Your Analysis

Which scientist ran a VALID experiment? (Only one)

Dr. Light

Dr. Water

Dr. Soil

My choice and why:

Which scientist made a MISTAKE? Name the error:

Scientist:

Error name:

What they changed:

What they should have kept the same:

Explain why this breaks their conclusion:

🚀 Bonus: Fix the Broken Experiment

Pick ONE flawed experiment. Redesign it so it actually tests what the scientist claimed.

I will fix:

My new design (what stays same, what changes):

Expected result if the claim is true:

⭐ Challenge Reflection

The trick that fooled me at first:

I knew an experiment was fair when:

I will check for this in:

🧠 Thinking Pause

I checked that only ONE variable changed in each experiment
I spotted the hidden variable that broke the conclusion
I could explain WHY the mistake mattered, not just name it

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