4/29 DOL

1 This past spring, before COVID-19 turned the world on its head, Anne Smith’s 9th-grade physics class was learning about electric circuits. Smith teaches science at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Ill. She gave her students paper clips, batteries, tape and a lightbulb. Then she said, “Have a go. See if you can make the bulb light up.” 

2 Smith sees value in letting her students experiment. She believes that some of the most powerful learning happens through trial and error. “When students are allowed to struggle through difficult material, they gain confidence,” she says. “They learn that making mistakes is part of the scientific process.”  

Based on the information in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the selection “A secret of science: Mistakes boost understanding”, what can the reader conclude about the importance of failure in scientific learning?

• Experiencing failure hinders scientific progress

• 1. Scientific experimentation discourages failure.

• 1. Failure is essential for scientific advancement.

• 1. There are only certain scientific fields where failure is valuable.

3 This isn’t to say that once the task is given, Smith sits back and watches her students fail. Instead, she selects activities that may have more than one answer. Then she encourages students to try multiple approaches. She wants them to think about different ways to solve a problem.

4 Throughout the lesson, the students engage in group discussions. Their observations and reflections focus on the process, not the outcome.

5 Smith praises students for working through hard tasks. She wants to highlight how their struggles can reward them with benefits. “The point,” Smith says, “is to explore ideas and evaluate the methods [being] tried.” In doing so, students learn to value mistakes. Indeed, she finds, mistakes are an essential part of learning.

Which phrase from paragraph 5 helps the reader understand the meaning of the word 'evaluate'?

• 1. "trial and error"

• 1. "gain confidence"

• 1. "scientific process"

• 1. "struggle through difficult material"

Failing to succeed

6 “Failure is the most important ingredient in science,” says Stuart Firestein. He studies the biology of the brain at Columbia University in New York City. He also wrote a book called Failure: Why Science is So Successful.

7 “When an experiment fails or doesn’t work out the way you expected, it tells you there is something you didn’t know,” he says. It suggests you need to go back and rethink: What went wrong? And why? Was there a problem with the idea? With your approach or assumptions? With your measurements? In the environment, such as temperature, lighting or pollution?

8 This is the value of failure. It leads us to what Firestein calls “the portal of the unknown.” It is where the deepest and most worthwhile questions come from. And asking those questions can spark new ideas and types of experiments. The best thing a scientist can discover is “a new or better question,” Firestein says. “Failure is where the action is. It propels science forward.”


What does the word "propels" mean in paragraph 8?  Select TWO answer choices.

• A. hold backs

• B. advances

• C. stagnates

• D. delays

• E. accelerates

9 Thomas Edison is reputed to have said much the same thing, according to a 1910 biography. He wanted to make a better battery. But after working seven days a week for more than five months, he still hadn’t succeeded. He told a friend, Walter S. Mallory, that he had already done more than 9,000 experiments for the project. According to the book, Mallory replied: “Isn’t it a shame that with the tremendous amount of work you have done you haven’t been able to get any results?” The book goes on to say that Edison “with a smile replied: ‘Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work.’”

10 (1)Nor did the dogged inventor stop. (2)He got the new battery to work. (3)He patented it, too. (4)Although Edison is best known for the light bulb, those batteries eventually became the most commercially successful product of his later life.

3. What is the MOST effective transition word or phrase to add to the beginning of sentence 3?

• 1. Consequently,

• Eventually,

• Nevertheless,

• Futhermore

Based on the information throughout the selection, how could experimenting with multiple approaches benefit students in science? Explain your answer using text evidence. Must include at least 3-5 complete sentences.