The Null Coloring Page

About this page

Meet the friendliest ghost in science. This little spirit stands for the null hypothesis, the possibility that nothing changes at all when you run your test. That sounds like a letdown, but the book makes it huggable on purpose. Learning that no change is a real, useful answer protects kids from thinking an experiment failed just because nothing dramatic happened. Finding out that something makes no difference still teaches you something true. It is one of the deeper ideas tucked inside this research coloring book for kids, delivered by a ghost too cute to fear.

The research skill

The little ghost with a bow holds a sign reading Null Hypothesis, the prediction that a change makes no difference. The skill is ruling things out. Researchers often start by assuming nothing will change, then look for evidence strong enough to show otherwise. When a test shows no difference, they have still learned something: that factor probably does not matter, so they cross it off and look elsewhere. This rounds out what a Chapter 3 hypothesis can be, and older students meet it again in statistics.

Try it at home

Test something that probably makes no difference. Ask your child: "Does the color of paper change how fast a crumpled ball falls?" Take two same-size sheets of different colors, crumple them into balls of about the same size, and predict. Hold one in each hand at the same height and let go together. Repeat three times. If they keep landing together, celebrate: the ghost was right, and color is ruled out. Then brainstorm what might matter instead, like crumpling one ball tight and leaving one loose.

Talk about it while you color

• Why do you think the ghost looks friendly instead of spooky?
• Can you remember a time you tried something and nothing happened? What did you do next?
• If the ghost could talk, what do you think it would tell the Squad?