Suppose your car or your friend's car will not
start. How would you go about finding out
what was wrong? You might ask questions
such as:
1. Why won't the car start?
2. Is the battery dead?
3. Is there gasoline in the tank?
Which of these questions will help you find out
what is wrong with the car?


Questions 2 and 3 focus your attention on
specific parts of the car. They also direct you
to do something specific to check and see if
that is the cause of the car not starting.
Questions 2 and 3 are examples of TESTABLE
QUESTIONS.
Question 1 lacks any direct focus on a part of
the car. Question 1 does not lead you to look
for possible causes of your problem.
A testable question will:
1. Ask for specific data such as a measurement
or count, a specific description, or a yes or no
answer.
2. Point out specific actions to take in looking
for answers to questions.
3. Lead to investigating a question rather than
just looking up an answer in a book.
4. Suggest a cause and effect relationship
between two or more factors.
Suppose you are a master chef and you have
just taken a cake out of the oven and it is as
flat as a pancake.
Which of the following questions is a testable
question (there may be more than one) to
help you determine why the cake is flat.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Did I use the entire package of cake mix?
How come my cake is flat?
What is the temperature of the oven?
What happened to the cake?
You have received your semester report card
and you have failed two classes!
Which of the following questions is a testable
question (there may be more than one) that
your parents may ask you to find out why you
received those grades.
1.
2.
3.
4.
How the heck did this happen?
Did the computer make an error?
Did you pass all your tests?
Why did this happen to me?