Sixth grade scientists reviewed the steps of the scientific method by experimenting with Möbius strips this month. A Möbius strip is a unique surface with only one side and one edge. Sixth graders made their own by taking long strips of adding machine tape, twisting one end 180 degrees, and then connecting the ends. Without explaining the unique properties of what they had created, science teacher Adel Collins asked students to hypothesize how many sides their strip of paper had. As students worked, she shared examples of well-formulated hypotheses with the class. Then, she asked students to test their theories by drawing a line down the center of the strip. Students were shocked to discover that their line continues infinitely because the strip is a 2-dimensional surface in 3-dimensional space! 

Students continued their exploration with a second procedure, crafting "if…then" hypothesis statements predicting how many pieces of paper they would have if they cut down the line they had drawn. While most students expected to get two pieces of paper after cutting, they discovered they now had a single, longer loop with two twists. Amid reactions ranging from frustration to fascination, one student exclaimed, "I'm so mad at science right now!" In a final procedure, students predicted how many pieces of paper they would have if they cut the Möbius strip a third time, discovering that they now had two interlinked loops. Students reflected in writing on what this experiment suggests about science and how their process compares to the steps scientists regularly follow.

Students enjoyed grappling with the confounding nature of the Möbius strips while practicing the steps of predicting, testing, and documenting their results. "This experiment outlines the scientific method and gets them back into the process of writing a hypothesis, testing, gathering data, and forming conclusions," says Adel. "Also, Möbius strips are fun to experiment with because they are not predictable and what you think is going to happen, doesn't always happen!"