Year 9 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 15

Synthesis: Building a Scientific Argument

Foundation Worksheet

Name

Date

Class

Learning Goals

Name the three parts of a scientific argument: claim, evidence, reasoning.
Identify weak and strong evidence for a claim.
Use key vocabulary: claim, evidence, reasoning, correlation, causation, peer review.

Warm Up

Sort it!

Each item below is part of a scientific argument or a type of evidence. Write each one into the box where it belongs.

"This supplement does not reliably improve memory." A peer-reviewed trial repeated by another team "The data leads to this because the only difference was the drink." The mean rose from 12 to 15 words recalled "Because the only thing that changed was the sugar..." A post with fifty thousand likes

Claim

Evidence

Reasoning

Your Turn

Fill the gap

Choose the correct word from the word bank to complete each sentence. Two words will not be used.

claim evidence reasoning correlation causation peer review limitations opinion

A scientific argument begins with a , the statement you are trying to support. It is backed by , the data you have collected or found. The part that explains how the data supports the statement is the . When two variables change together but one is not proven to cause the other, this is called . The check by other scientists before research is trusted is called . A strong argument is also honest about its , the things its evidence cannot show.

Show What You Know

1. A post claims a supplement "boosts memory by 40 percent". Give one piece of strong evidence and one piece of weak evidence someone might offer for this claim, and say which is which.

Recall 2 marks

2. Why should a scientific argument use the phrase "the evidence suggests" rather than "this proves"? Give one reason.

Recall 2 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?