One of the big goals of science is to make claims about the natural universe. This helps us understand it and make accurate predictions about it.
Claim: a conclusion about a problem.
Examples:
•Water molecules form hexagon shaped crystals when they freeze.
•Hot weather causes people to behave more aggressively.
•Colonel Mustard killed Mr. Boddy in the study with the lead pipe.
Evidence: data / observations that support a claim.
Examples:
•The snowflakes all had generally hexagonal shapes when viewed under a microscope.
•Researchers recorded an average of 12 aggressive behaviors per hour in hot conditions and only 5 aggressive behaviors per hour in cool conditions.
•A lead pipe was found in the trash at Colonel Mustard’s apartment, and traces of lead were found in the study, on Mr. Boddy’s body, and on Colonel Mustard’s yellow suit.
Reasoning: an explanation of how the evidence supports the claim.
Examples:
•Molecular level crystals tend to have the same shapes as larger scale crystals. Since the water crystals (snowflakes) had a hexagonal shape, we can infer that the water molecules form hexagon shapes at the molecular level.
•Since people behaved aggressively more often in hot conditions, and no other conditions were changed, the hot conditions probably caused the increase in aggressive behavior.
•The lead traces on Colonel Mustard’s suit along with the lead pipe in his trash support the claim that he recently handled a lead pipe. Lead traces in the study and on the body indicate that a lead pipe may have been the murder weapon. While it would be very helpful to also have matching DNA samples on the pipe and on Colonel Mustard’s clothing, the available evidence is compatible with the claim that Colonel Mustard killed Mr. Boddy in the study with the lead pipe.