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. Did I use the entire package of cake mix?2. How come my cake is flat?3. What is the temperature of the oven?4. 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. How the heck did this happen?2. Did the computer make an error?3. Did you pass all your tests?4. Why did this happen to me?