Lesson 10 of 16 · Engineering and Design
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopSpotting an Odd Result
Engineering and Design.
🎯 Your mission
Master the concept. Use it tomorrow.
⚡ The twist
The first design always fails. That's the point.
Mind = Blown
🛠️ The first computer bug was a literal moth stuck inside a machine in 1947.
Make a hypothesis first
Guess: what's the weakest part of this build?
What You'll Learn
When one measurement sits far away from the others, it is an anomaly. Look for a cause — a slipped ruler, a mistimed stopwatch — and repeat that reading. Do not simply cross it out because it spoils a neat pattern.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Steps
Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.
Given six timings of the same event, find the odd one out and suggest two things that could have caused it. Calculate the mean with and without it and say which you would report.
Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.
Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 2A result far from all the others is called an:
Where you see this in real life
Your phone, your bike, your shoes — all designed with this idea.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Build something — anything — out of stuff in your recycling bin.
For the dinner table
“What's something around the house you'd redesign — and how?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Ready?
Spotting an Odd Result
Master the concept. Use it tomorrow.
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