Lesson 1 of 5 · Engineering and Design
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopControl Groups in Experiments
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
A controlled experiment compares an experimental group that receives the treatment with a control group that does not. The control group acts as a baseline, so any difference in results can be traced to the variable being tested.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Steps
Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.
Design an experiment to test a hypothesis. Identify your independent variable, dependent variable, and controls. Run the experiment and present results.
Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.
Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What makes a good scientific investigation?
Where you see this in real life
Every bridge, building, and gadget you've ever used started with this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Find something that's broken at home and try to figure out *why* it broke.
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?
Control Groups in Experiments
Master the concept. Use it tomorrow.
Full screen — no distractions
Checkout complete lesson on Engineering and Design for 8th Grade
Get the full Engineering and Design track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.