Why does Mr. Cole tell Hana not to remove the result?
Listen to a Classroom Conversation · ELPAC Grades 9–10 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
A multiple-turn conversation between two speakers, followed by three questions.
Listen to the conversation between Mr. Cole and Hana about her lab report. Then answer the questions.
The Result That Did Not Fit
Press play to listen. You can pause, rewind, and replay as often as you like.
Show transcript
Mr. Cole: Hana, I looked at your yeast data. Four of your five trials at forty degrees are close together, and then trial three is almost double the others. What happened there?
Hana: I am not sure. I was going to leave it off the graph so the pattern looks cleaner.
Mr. Cole: I would not do that. If you remove a result just because it does not match, a reader has no way of knowing whether the pattern is real or whether you only kept the results that fit it.
Hana: So I keep it in, even though it is probably a mistake?
Mr. Cole: You keep it in your data table, and you say what you think caused it. Did anything about that trial go differently?
Hana: Actually, yes. I opened a new packet of yeast for trial three. The other four all came from the same packet.
Mr. Cole: That is a real explanation, and it is worth a sentence in your report. Then run two more trials with the new packet tomorrow at lunch. If those come out high too, you have not found a mistake. You have found out something about the yeast.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does Mr. Cole tell Hana not to remove the result?
- Every lab report must include exactly five trials.
- He thinks trial three is the only accurate result.
- The graph would be too difficult to read without it.
- Readers could not tell whether her pattern is real or whether she kept only the results that fit.Correct answer
Why “Readers could not tell whether her pattern is real or whether she kept only the results that fit.” is correct
This tests listening for a speaker's reasoning about a principle, here honesty with data. Mr. Cole explains that removing a result because it does not match leaves a reader unable to judge whether the pattern is genuine. Discussing why this matters in science helps students remember the reasoning, not just the instruction.
Why the other answers are wrong
- Every lab report must include exactly five trials. — He never says how many trials a report must include; in fact he asks her to run more.
- He thinks trial three is the only accurate result. — He does not say trial three is accurate; he wants it explained and tested further.
- The graph would be too difficult to read without it. — The readability of the graph is never discussed; Hana wanted a cleaner pattern, not an easier graph.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 9–10, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 9–10. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.