Correlation Is Not Causation

Lab Brief #2

🎯 Your mission

Learn the rule. Then catch nature using it.

⚡ The twist

Every species solves the same problem differently.

What you'll learn

Two quantities can rise together without one causing the other — ice cream sales and drowning deaths both rise in summer. Establishing cause needs a controlled experiment or a plausible mechanism, not just a trend line.

Key words

correlation
A statistical relationship in which two variables change together.
confounding variable
A third factor that influences both variables and creates a false impression of cause.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you watch: what do you think it'll do?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "correlation" and "confounding variable" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Given four real correlations, identify a plausible confounding variable for each and design one controlled experiment that would test whether the relationship is causal.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

Ice cream sales and drowning both rise in summer because of a:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Establishing causation generally requires:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🌳 Trees can talk to each other through underground fungus networks.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Carbon Footprint of a Choice All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is why plants grow toward windows and why scabs form.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Watch a plant or pet for 5 minutes today and write down what you noticed.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Tell me something you noticed about your own body today.”

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Correlation Is Not Causation

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