Free printable teacher resource
Launch a focused investigation without inventing a case from scratch. Each card supplies a fictional situation, a testable decision, evidence to collect, a fair-comparison rule, and a responsible constraint.
Direct answer
Give students a specific operating problem, not a vague instruction to “make more profit.” Name one decision input they can change, two or three outcomes they must observe, and the important settings they should hold constant. Require a baseline before the change and ask for a recommendation that includes a tradeoff, uncertainty, and a responsible boundary.
The 18 cards below are ready to assign with free xdage simulations. Teachers may use the prompt as written, simplify the evidence target for beginners, or add repeated trials and calculations for advanced classes. All businesses, customers, and events are fictional.
Underline the decision, predict two effects, and identify one stakeholder who may experience a tradeoff.
Use the named scenario and capture the required measures with units before changing anything.
Change only the assigned decision where possible. Keep the named control settings constant.
Cite the comparison, explain a tradeoff or alternative cause, and propose one controlled next test.
18 assignable investigations
A neighborhood café is busy before school, but long waits may cost repeat visits. Use the coffee shop simulator.
Decision: Will one added barista create enough sales and loyalty to justify labor cost?
Evidence: monthly profit, wait time, cups sold, and customer rating.
Fair test: hold price, pastry order, quality, and marketing constant. Do not treat unsafe workload or unpaid work as an alternative.
A food truck must choose between a high-fee festival and a lower-cost office lunch stop. Use the food truck simulator.
Decision: Which location produces stronger daily cash without overloading service?
Evidence: sales, event or permit cost, customers served, wait time, and daily cash.
Fair test: use the same menu, pricing, prep, staffing, and weather; licensing and food safety remain constraints.
A bakery wants fuller shelves during the morning rush without increasing end-of-day waste. Use the bakery simulator.
Decision: Does a moderate production increase improve profit after waste?
Evidence: items sold, stockouts, waste, revenue, and profit.
Fair test: hold price, product mix, staffing, and wholesale commitment constant; do not sell products that fail quality rules.
A roadside motel expects a busy weekend and is considering a higher room rate. Use the motel simulator.
Decision: How does the rate change affect occupancy, guest satisfaction, and profit?
Evidence: occupied rooms, room revenue, channel cost, satisfaction, and profit.
Fair test: hold property, staffing, upkeep, and booking channel constant; safety and truthful room descriptions are non-negotiable.
A salon has unused appointment time early in the week but long waits on Saturday. Use the hair salon simulator.
Decision: Does accepting more walk-ins raise profit without damaging wait time and retention?
Evidence: clients served, stylist utilization, wait time, retention, tips, and profit.
Fair test: hold service price, stylist count, product offer, and quality setting constant; respect fair schedules and breaks.
An auto repair garage wants to shorten diagnostic time, but rushed work may cause comeback repairs. Use the auto repair simulator.
Decision: Which diagnostic-time choice balances throughput, trust, and profit?
Evidence: vehicles completed, comeback rate, customer trust, labor cost, and profit.
Fair test: hold pricing, parts margin, mechanics, and bays constant; safety checks and honest recommendations cannot be skipped.
A small grocer loses sales to empty shelves but also discards unsold perishables. Use the grocery store simulator.
Decision: Does higher fresh inventory improve contribution after shrink and waste?
Evidence: availability, fresh sales, waste or shrink, customer rating, and profit.
Fair test: keep price, staffing, checkout capacity, and promotions constant; food safety is not a cost-saving variable.
An independent bookstore is considering an author event to increase visits and slow-stock sales. Use the bookstore simulator.
Decision: Does the event create enough incremental margin to justify its cost?
Evidence: visitors, units sold, slow stock, event cost, customer loyalty, and profit.
Fair test: hold inventory, prices, staffing, and recommendation effort constant; do not claim guaranteed attendance or sales.
A car wash wants steadier revenue but worries that a membership offer may crowd its bays. Use the car wash simulator.
Decision: Does a stronger membership strategy improve recurring profit without unacceptable waits?
Evidence: memberships, visits, bay utilization, wait time, chemical cost, and profit.
Fair test: hold package prices, labor, maintenance, and service quality constant; water and environmental requirements remain constraints.
A lawn-care company can accept scattered one-time jobs or focus on contracts in one area. Use the landscaping simulator.
Decision: Does denser routing improve margin after fuel and crew time?
Evidence: jobs completed, travel or fuel cost, crew utilization, contracts, and margin.
Fair test: hold prices, crew size, service quality, season, and maintenance constant; safe travel and equipment practices are fixed.
A fitness studio is considering another popular class, but trainer time and crowded rooms may affect members. Use the fitness studio simulator.
Decision: Does added class capacity improve retention and recurring profit?
Evidence: class use, trainer cost, satisfaction, churn, memberships, and profit.
Fair test: hold membership price, equipment, marketing, and facility quality constant; safe capacity and qualified supervision are constraints.
A court facility is full in the evening but quiet in the afternoon. Use the racket court simulator.
Decision: Can a pricing change improve utilization and profit without weakening loyalty?
Evidence: bookings, court utilization, memberships, satisfaction, maintenance cost, and profit.
Fair test: keep sport, court count, staffing, maintenance, and promotion constant; pricing terms must remain clear and consistent.
A fictional stand wants to raise its cup price on a warm day. Use the lemonade stand simulator.
Decision: Does a higher price improve daily profit after the effect on demand?
Evidence: cups sold, revenue, ingredient cost, waste, customer response, and profit.
Fair test: hold weather, recipe, inventory, capacity, and promotion constant; include units in every calculation.
A family restaurant has slow dinner service but cannot assume every added labor hour pays for itself. Use the restaurant simulator.
Decision: Does one staffing increase improve service and monthly profit?
Evidence: meals served, wait time, labor cost, satisfaction, revenue, and profit.
Fair test: hold concept, menu price, food quality, marketing, and capacity constant; safe food handling and fair labor practices are fixed.
A dry cleaner wants to advertise faster turnaround but already has a machine backlog. Use the dry cleaning simulator.
Decision: Can a shorter turnaround promise raise demand without lowering quality?
Evidence: orders, backlog, on-time rate, rework, customer rating, and profit.
Fair test: hold price, machines, staffing, quality control, and promotion constant; truthful claims and safe chemical handling remain constraints.
A fictional childcare center has new enrollment requests but must protect care quality and staffing ratios. Use the childcare simulator.
Decision: What enrollment and staffing combination maintains safety and sustainable cash flow?
Evidence: enrollment, ratio pressure, labor cost, quality, parent satisfaction, and cash flow.
Fair test: compare compliant options only. Safety, licensing, supervision, and care quality are hard constraints—not tradeable profit inputs.
A pet store is deciding whether to emphasize grooming services or expand product inventory. Use the pet store simulator.
Decision: Which emphasis creates stronger margin without weakening animal care or service?
Evidence: product sales, grooming revenue, inventory cost, staffing, care quality, and profit.
Fair test: hold prices, marketing, store size, and baseline staffing constant; welfare and qualified care cannot be reduced.
A fictional driver sees high evening demand but has already worked several hours. Use the ride-hailing simulator.
Decision: Which next-trip strategy protects safety while producing reasonable net earnings?
Evidence: fare, fuel cost, time, fatigue, rating, and net earnings.
Fair test: compare trips from the same starting state where possible; legal driving limits, rest, and safety override earnings.
Preselect the changed input. Ask for two measures and sentence starters. Provide the worked examples for calculation checks.
Require a baseline, one changed run, three measures, a claim, a tradeoff, a model limitation, and one next test. Use the copy-ready assignment.
Add a repeated trial, percent change or margin calculation, competing explanation, sensitivity test, and peer challenge. Use the 16-point rubric.
Printable blank scenario slip
Decision question:
One input to change:
Important settings to hold constant:
Three measures to record with units:
Stakeholder, tradeoff, or responsible constraint:
Evidence that would support or weaken the recommendation:
A scenario card gives students a fictional operating situation, one measurable decision question, variables to hold constant, evidence to collect, and a responsible constraint to respect.
A baseline and comparison can fit into 15 to 20 minutes. Add a repeated run, peer challenge, and written recommendation for a 45- to 50-minute lesson.
No. A class can compare different cards, but teams should use the same simulator settings and record the same measures when their results will be compared.
Yes. Project one simulator, let the class vote on a decision, and record the baseline and comparison results. Students can analyze the shared evidence independently on paper.
No. These are simplified classroom models. They support comparison and discussion, not forecasts, legal conclusions, financial advice, or real staffing and safety decisions.
Record the investigation in the evidence portfolio, check understanding with the quiz and question bank, run feedback with the peer review protocol, or plan the full sequence in the assessment and feedback toolkit. Browse every simulator, worksheet, lesson, and guide in the complete resource index.