The TIP students retuned for another day of scientific exploration. Dr. Robert Panoff, Bob1, instructed the TIP students in how to open two different spreadsheet documents through Microsoft® Excel and Claris® Works. Bob1 then gave the students a series of variables to input into these spreadsheets. The students did as they were instructed, inputing data into the spreadsheets. After the computer finished processing the documents' information, the students were astonished to find that each spreadsheet had returned a different answer.

Bob1 then explained to the class that the different programs process the data differently. Bob1 continued his explanation by noting that when the same variables are entered into two different versions of Claris Works, the answers varied by the lengths of the decimals. Bob1 then closed the class day explaining to the students that once the different realities of the computer are explored, "you may get discouraged when you come out with two different responses on the same machine." The exercise was a valuable examination of the limitations of a computer.