Year 8 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 11

Claim — Evidence — Reasoning

Foundation Worksheet

Name

Date

Class

Learning Goals

Identify the three components of the CER framework: Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning.
Sort example statements into their correct CER category.
Label the parts of a complete CER scientific argument.

Warm Up

Sort it!

Each statement below is either a Claim, Evidence, or Reasoning. Write each statement into the correct column below. One has been done for you.

Temperature affects enzyme activity At 37°C reaction rate was 95 units/min — the highest of all temperatures tested Higher temperature increases particle kinetic energy, raising collision frequency with substrate Salt dissolves faster in warm water than cold water At 60°C dissolving time was 17 s; at 20°C it was 85 s Warmer water molecules have more kinetic energy and collide more frequently with the solute The metal rod expanded when heated Heating increases the kinetic energy of particles, causing them to vibrate more and take up more space The rod length increased from 30.0 cm to 30.3 cm after heating to 200°C

Claim

Evidence

Reasoning

Your Turn

Match the definitions, then label the paragraph

Part A: Match each CER term to its correct definition.

CER Term	Your answer	Definition
Claim		A. Specific data — numbers, observations or measurements — that supports or challenges the claim.
Evidence		B. The logical explanation that connects the data to the conclusion using scientific concepts.
Reasoning		C. A clear statement that answers the investigation question and tells us what the data shows.

Part B: Read the scientific argument below. Label each sentence C (Claim), E (Evidence), or R (Reasoning) in the boxes provided.

Scientific argument

Label (C / E / R)	Sentence
	"Fertiliser C produced the best plant growth of the four fertilisers tested."
	"Plants grown with Fertiliser C reached an average height of 31 cm, compared with 24 cm for A, 18 cm for B, and 12 cm for D."
	"Fertiliser C likely provides the nutrients most needed for photosynthesis and cell growth, such as nitrogen for protein synthesis and phosphorus for energy transfer."

Show What You Know

1. What is the difference between evidence and reasoning in a CER response? Give a brief example of each.

Recall 2 marks

2. A student writes: "The results support the hypothesis." Explain why this is a weak claim and rewrite it as a stronger scientific claim.

Recall 2 marks

Wrap Up

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