Before the Deadline

Iris and Ben were finishing a class project about cyclists outside their college. There were twenty minutes left before the deadline. Ben made a colourful chart with their numbers. Their conclusion was simple: more people cycled on Mondays than on Fridays. Iris checked the notebook before sending the file.

Then she found a problem. They counted for an hour on Monday, but for only thirty minutes on Friday because it started to rain. The chart showed the totals without explaining the different times. Iris could not say that Monday was busier when they spent twice as long counting that day.

“We can send it and explain if the teacher asks,” Ben suggested. Iris did not agree. “We need to explain it in the report,” she said. “The teacher should not have to ask.” There was no time to go outside and collect more numbers.

They kept the numbers but changed the conclusion. They added a note under the chart about the rain and the different counting times. Ben wrote that they needed more counts of the same length. They sent the project with two minutes left before the deadline.

The following day, the teacher asked about their short conclusion. Iris explained the mistake. The teacher liked their honest explanation of what the numbers could show. After class, Ben opened a new page in the notebook and wrote, “Next time: check the method first.”