These five ordinary sources are made up for learning. No actual courtyard, people or plant trial is represented. You can use every source without visiting a garden or changing a living thing. Real-world facts are separately labelled in FACT-CARDS.md.
O1 · What the fictional team wants
The team has permission only to write a proposal. It wants to choose a better question before changing a small plant display. Its members disagree: one values taller seedlings, one wants more seedlings alive at the final check, and one wants records anyone can understand. None of these preferences is a measured plant result.
Their job for you: “Tell us what the records support, what they leave unknown and one sensible next check. Do not promise that a plant will thrive.”
O2 · Nine-day bean-seedling record
A fictional recorder followed two groups of four bean seedlings. Both groups started with each seedling 20 mm tall. The plan specified the same seed variety, container size, potting mix, 40 mL of water per container each day and checks at the same time of day. Group A was assigned the brighter position; B the shaded position. Actual light level, temperature, soil moisture and whether the watering plan was followed were not recorded. Positions were different, so this is not enough to isolate light as the cause.
The recorder supplied group mean heights. “Mean” here means the four heights added and divided by four. You may use the supplied means; calculating every mean is optional.
| Day after the start | A mean height (mm) | B mean height (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 20 | 20 |
| 3 | 26 | 22 |
| 6 | 32 | 24 |
| 9 | 38 | 26 |
At Day 9 the individual heights were A: 38, 36, 40, 38 mm; B: 26, 28, 24, 26 mm. All four seedlings in each group were recorded alive at that check. These are separate height and alive-at-check observations within the fiction. They do not establish health, later survival, seed production or success for other species.
O3 · A plan that changes too much
Another fictional team proposes: “Put one tall bean seedling in a big shaded pot with 80 mL of water daily. Put one smaller bean seedling in a little brighter pot with 20 mL daily. After a week, whichever is tallest proves whether shade is good.”
No outcome exists. Starting height, pot size, water and position differ. “Tallest at the end” would also ignore the different starting heights. A revised plan can be useful; it is not a conducted investigation or permission to run one.
O4 · Same-day height and survival notes
A fictional tray keeper recorded two trays on Day 0 and Day 8. Each tray began with six bean seedlings and mean height 20 mm. The different assigned daily water amounts were 20 mL for tray P and 50 mL for tray Q. The keeper does not supply temperature or soil-moisture readings.
| Tray | Day 8 mean height | Alive at Day 8 | Initial seedlings |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | 31 mm | 6 | 6 |
| Q | 36 mm | 4 | 6 |
P's mean increased 11 mm; Q's increased 16 mm. This table’s final means are calculated over all six originally labelled seedlings using their recorded heights, including those marked not alive; missing-height cells are not present. A living plant’s height and a stopped/still-standing stem can be different things. Do not recalculate a mean over only survivors and compare it with this one.
The record alone does not show that one water amount caused mortality. Nor does a larger mean increase settle a choice for someone prioritising the number alive. The supplied counts describe these twelve seedlings at this one eight-day check.
O5 · Two methods and a help-desk note
Team River measured each seedling from the soil surface to its tip, using a ruler marked in millimetres. Team Ridge measured from the container base to the tip. Both called the result “height”. Their pots had different depths. Team River also read at eye level; Ridge read from above. No actual measurement is supplied.
A draft note says: “Our groups prove every plant needs the brightest place. We should move the real school plants tomorrow.” The note confuses one small constructed record, universal needs and a real action for which no approval is supplied.
A better note should name the fictional record, its sample and period, distinguish growth from survival, explain a possible measurement/condition problem and request a relevant next check. A respectful disagreement can end with “we need more evidence”. No real school move, plant care prescription or fieldwork permission follows from this folder.
Words and complete no-picture alternative
- Habitat: a place where a living thing lives, with living and non-living features. Here we study physical conditions such as light, temperature, available water and salinity, not a complete habitat inventory.
- Growth measure: a specified change in size over a specified period; height is only one measure.
- Survival measure: how many are alive at a stated check, out of the starting sample. A count at one check is not lifetime survival.
- Prediction: a reasoned expectation made before the outcome, with an uncertainty. It is not a promise.
- Changed / measured / controlled: what a plan varies, what it records and what it tries to keep alike. A written control is not proof it was maintained.
- Association / cause: a difference may occur alongside a changed condition. A fairer controlled comparison gives stronger evidence about a cause; these supplied small records do not certify one.
Every source above is already literal text. O2 can be drawn as two labelled lines through the listed day/height pairs; the table remains the complete equivalent. O3 is a two-column condition comparison; no hidden picture detail is required. O4 uses count groups out of six; raised counters can represent them. O5 uses two text arrows from the specified reference points. Do not add outcome pictures to a before-only fresh source.