Black Box Inquiry - Water Box

Print Instructions - This model should be water tight. I like to print with 4-5 walls with about 60% infill. It can be printed at 0.2mm (or higher). Do not print with supports and print using dark filament (black, purple, dark blue, etc.) so you can't see inside. Brim is recommended.

How to use 

Having a class set (1 for every 2 students) is ideal since it gives students a chance to examine and explore. Students are instructed to figure out what it looks like inside the box. Their ideas need to be based on the observations they gather. There are 2 main rules:

1. They cannot break, damage or destroy the box.
2. They cannot put anything in the box they can't get out, such as little rocks.

The best part of this box is the multiple things you can do (quantitative and qualitative) to figure out what it looks like inside. 

Examples of qualitative data students normally get:

• the fact that one side is shallower than the other
• “feels” like there might be something in the middle, especially if you poke at it
• Some might see something using a phone flash light
• Water might sound like it gets trapped inside depending on the opening you pour it in

Examples of quantitative data students can get:

• They can measure the depth of each opening.
• They can measure volumes of water put in versus the volume that comes out
• Total volume of water that can fill the box

Being able to do so many different things really strengthens the idea that the models we develop is based on the data we get - it should be able to explain the data and perhaps predict new things about the nature of the substance. We often share data and our findings with each other to compare, contrast and therefore develop better models.