Science Scientific Inquiryusually ages 9–11

Controlling variables

Plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, recognising and controlling variables where necessary

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Independently plan an investigation identifying the independent, dependent, and controlled variables
Choose the appropriate type of enquiry for the question (fair test, observation over time, pattern seeking, research)
Explain why controlling variables is essential for valid results

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Try this together

Can your child plan their own experiment from scratch — deciding what to test, what to measure, what to keep the same, and how many times to repeat it?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Fair testingages 7–9Must set up simple fair tests before independently planning enquiries with variable control

Fair testing (age 8+)ages 8–11Must plan enquiries with variable control before running fair tests on prototypes

Planning a Taskages 6–7Planning a scientific enquiry is the domain-specific application of the universal task-planning habit

Using evidence to answer questionsages 7–9Pattern identification supports planning targeted enquiries

Choosing a Strategyages 9–10Choosing an enquiry approach and evaluating whether it worked is the science form of the universal strategy-evaluation habit

Controlling variablesthis skill · ages 9–11

Unlocks

Fair testing (age 9+)ages 9–11Must plan enquiries independently before designing follow-up investigations from predictions

Controlling variables (age 11+)ages 11–12KS3 hypothesis formation and full experimental design extends KS2 Upper ability to plan enquiries and control variables

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 2 ACARA · 1 NSW · 2 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S5I02low confidenceYear 5 · Science inquiry

plan and conduct repeatable investigations to answer questions, including, as appropriate, deciding the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests; describing potential risks; planning for the safe use of equipment and materials; and identifying required permissions to conduct investigations on Country/Place

AC9S6I02low confidenceYear 6 · Science inquiry

plan and conduct repeatable investigations to answer questions including, as appropriate, deciding the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests; describing potential risks; planning for the safe use of equipment and materials; and identifying required permissions to conduct investigations on Country/Place

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

ST3-PQU-01low confidenceScience and Technology K-6 · Stage 3

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S6I02low confidenceScience · Levels 5 and 6 · Science Inquiry strand

VC2S4I01low confidenceScience · Levels 3 and 4 · Science Inquiry strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Accurate Measurementages 9–11 Classifying living things (age 9+)ages 9–11 Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 9+)ages 9–11 Evidence Supporting Ideasages 9–11

All Scientific Inquiry skills →