The last step in any investigation is to publish the results of the investigation.

Results from an investigation must be replicable (reproducible) over a long period of time, by a variety of individuals, in order to be accepted as valid. Valid results are then able to become a part of the general body of knowledge in Science.

Why is it a must to publish the results?

How does Science publish?

Scientist publish their findings by writing a conclusion at the end of an investigation that summarizes what they did and learned. The conclusion provides other scientists with information about the process and results of an investigation. Furthermore, a conclusion provides the opportunity for a scientist to offer a reason that attempts to explain why certain results were obtained.

How do Scientist structure their conclusions?

They use CER!

1st they state (offer) their CLAIM…this is essentially their hypothesis…or what they predicted or believed happened in an experiment.

2nd they offer the EVIDENCE collected in the investigation that addresses their claim. This is another way of saying they share the DATA (usually numeric) collected during the experiment.

3rd they provide a REASON that they believe offers and explanation for the results (DATA) obtained during the experiment.

CER is the guide for your conclusions!

CLAIM……… the predicted or observed outcome of an experiment.

EVIDENCE …share the data!

REASON……use your knowledge of science to explain what the data indicates happened in the investigation. Tell the reader why/how, when analyzing your data, you saw a

particular result.

A comparative investigation

Students, having learned that metals were generally good conductors became curious about which metal was actually the most efficient conductor of electricity.

They had three metals they could use…Copper (Cu), Aluminum (Al), and Zinc (Zn).

Copper

Zinc

Aluminum

If a metal is a good better conductor it will deliver more energy to the light bulb. Which

light bulb puts out the most light?

Next run the experiment and collect data!

Copper

Zinc

Aluminum

Collect DATA = EVIDENCE !

Wire Type Battery Light BulbLight Output inLumens (lm)

Zinc 9 V 1.5 w 1.7 (lm)

Aluminum 9 V 1.5 w 5.2 (lm)

Copper 9 V 1.5 w 9.6 (lm)

PUBLISH = using CERWritten in paragraph form.

Wire Type Battery Light BulbLight Output inLumens (lm)

Zinc 9 V 1.5 w 1.7 (lm)

Aluminum 9 V 1.5 w 5.2 (lm)

Copper 9 V 1.5 w 9.6 (lm)

Claim – Copper is a better conductor of electricity than Aluminum or Zinc.

Evidence - Copper wire attaching a battery to a bulb put out more lumens of light than

other types of wire. Copper put out 9.6 (lm) compared to 5.2 (lm) for Aluminum and only 1.7 (lm) for Zinc. Reason - Since all factors that could affect the

output of light were kept equal except for the type of wire, Copper must be the most efficient at moving energy since it put out the most light. Therefore, Copper is the best conductor of electricity.