The Mystery of the Missing Cookies
Lily loved cookies, especially chocolate chip cookies. She had baked a dozen of them yesterday and left them on the kitchen counter to cool down. She planned to enjoy them after school today. But when she came home, she found that there were only six cookies left in the tray. Who had eaten the other six cookies?
Lily decided to use the scientific method to find out. She followed these steps:
1. Observation: She looked around the kitchen and noticed some clues. There were crumbs on the floor, a glass of milk on the table, and a napkin with a lipstick mark on it.
2. Question: She asked herself, "Who ate the cookies?"
3. Hypothesis: She made a guess based on the clues. She thought, "Maybe Mom ate the cookies. She likes chocolate chip cookies, she drinks milk with them, and she wears lipstick."
4. Prediction: She made a logical consequence based on her hypothesis. She thought, "If Mom ate the cookies, then she should have some chocolate on her teeth or lips."
5. Test: She went to find Mom and asked her to smile. She looked at her teeth and lips carefully. She did not see any chocolate on them.
6. Conclusion: She evaluated the result of her test. She thought, "Mom did not eat the cookies. My hypothesis was wrong. I need to make a new hypothesis and test it."
Lily repeated the steps with different hypotheses. She tested Dad, her brother Jake, and her dog Max. None of them had eaten the cookies. She was puzzled. Who could it be?
Then she remembered that her friend Mia had come over to play after school. She called Mia and asked her, "Did you eat the cookies?" Mia confessed, "Yes, I did. I'm sorry, Lily. I was hungry and they looked so delicious. I ate six of them and left you the other six. I hope you're not mad at me."
Lily was a little disappointed, but she forgave Mia. She said, "It's okay, Mia. Next time, please ask me before you take something. And maybe we can bake some more cookies together."
Lily learned that the scientific method helped her solve the mystery of the missing cookies. She also learned that sometimes the answer is not what you expect. She decided to write down her story and share it with her teacher and classmates. She hoped they would enjoy it and learn something from it too.