NOS - Being wrong is not only OK, it should be required

Why don't I get the answer in the book?
What do you do when an experiment doesn't work? Well, it isn't the end of the world and it certainly isn't the end of the experiment. In Science we rarely get the answers that we expect. In fact, unexpected results often result in greater learning and understanding. The unexpected tells you: a) you were barking up the wrong tree with your hypothesis, (b) your method is flawed and needs to be revisited, or (c) you have stumbled on something previously unheard of. Regardless, you have learned something in each case. The challenge is to analyse your data and to determine which case exisits. In fact if the experiment works as planned, you have learned nothing. Your hypothesis and therefore you were correct from the outset.

From a classroom perspective, we are often faced with experiments based on the theory in the book. In these cases it is assumed that the students will get the right answer. In most cases the student answers will not match the textbook answers exactly. Many will be close, some not so muchand a few will be right out of the park. Keep in mind that the numbers and formulae given in textbooks are derived by professionals with access to much better equipment than is routinely available in a school lab.

Students need to know that they are bound by the same rules as mainstream scientists. The goal is to get the best answer possible under less than ideal conditions. Take for example "Physical Constants". We are told that gravity is a constant 9.8 metres per second squared. In reality this value has ben arrived through thousands upon thousands of trials. The 9.8 value is in reality an average of these trials. Atomic masses are arrived at in a similar fashion. Dont even get me started on biological systems and the genetic differences that make is necessary that all organisms behave differently in similar conditions. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to get the same answer, (let alone the answer in the text), repeatedly even under ideal circumstances with superb equipment. In fact, you should be nervous if you do.