has no feet and fly has." "Butterfly makes butter." "Fly is a
fly and a butterfly is not." Failures due to misstatement of
fact are of endless variety. If an indefinite response is given,
like "The fly is different," or "They don't look alike," we ask,
"_How is it different?_" or, "_Why don't they look alike?_" It
is satisfactory if the child then gives a correct answer.

_Stone and egg_

_Satisfactory._ "Stone is harder." "Egg is softer." "Egg breaks
easier." "Egg breaks and stone doesn't." "Stone is heavier."
"Egg is white and stone is not." "Egg has a shell and stone does
not." "Eggs have a white and a yellow in them." "You put eggs in
a pudding." "An egg is rounder than a stone." We may also accept
statements which are only qualifiedly true; as, "You can break
an egg, but not a stone." Likewise double but incomplete
comparisons are satisfactory; as, "An egg you fry and a stone
you throw," "A stone is tough and an egg you eat," etc.

A little over three fourths of the comparisons made by children
of 6, 7, and 8 years are in terms of hardness. The other
responses are widely scattered.

_Unsatisfactory._ "A stone is bigger (or smaller) than an egg."
"A stone is square and an egg is round." "An egg is yellow and a
stone is white." "Stones are red (or black, etc.) and eggs are
white." "An egg is to eat and a stone is to plant." "An egg is
round and a stone is sometimes round."

It will be noted that the above responses are partly true and
partly false. The error they contain renders them unacceptable.
Most of the failures are due to misstatements as to size, shape,
or color, but occasionally one meets a bizarre answer.

_Wood and glass_

_Satisfactory._ "Glass breaks easier than wood." "Glass breaks
and wood does not." "Wood is stronger than glass." "Glass you
can see through and wood you can't." "Glass cuts you and wood
doesn't." "You get splinters from wood and you don't from
glass." "Glass melts and wood doesn't." "Wood burns and glass
doesn't." "Wood has bark and glass hasn't." "Wood grows and
glass doesn't." "Glass is heavier than wood." "Glass glistens in
the sun and wood does not."

An incomplete double comparison is also counted satisfactory;
as, "Wood you can burn and glass you can see through."

_Unsatisfactory._ "Wood is black and glass is white." (