How do science concepts apply to your world? Here are some questions you'll be able to answer after you read this chapter.

• How can a card game be a model for organizing elements?
• What do a piano keyboard and a periodic table of the elements have in common?
• Which element makes it possible for plants to capture the energy of sunlight and use it to make sugar?
• Why are aluminum cans such an important part of recycling programs?
• Can an element be both helpful and harmful to the human body?

How Much Data Do You Need to Identify a Pattern?

Procedure

1. Your teacher will give you a stapled stack of paper. Look at the squares on the top sheet of paper. Try to figure out what familiar phrase you would see if all the squares were filled in. Record your prediction on the sheet.
2. Remove the top sheet and look at the second sheet. Again, try to figure out what letters belong in the squares. Record your prediction.
3. Continue this process until you have looked at all the sheets in the stack.

Think About It

1. Observing   How did the information on the sheets change as you moved from the top to the bottom of the stack?
2. Drawing Conclusions   How did the number of letters provided affect your ability to predict the phrase?
3. Using Analogies   Describe another situation in which having more data makes it easier to recognize a pattern.