A claim, evidence, reasoning (CER) is a framework for evaluating and communicating scientific arguments. It involves making a claim about a scientific phenomenon, presenting evidence to support the claim, and then providing reasoning to explain why the evidence supports the claim.
Here is an example of a CER:
Claim: Increasing the temperature of a substance will cause the substance to expand.
Evidence: When a substance is heated, the molecules that make up the substance gain energy and start to move around more. This increased movement takes up more space, causing the substance to expand.
Reasoning: The evidence provided supports the claim that increasing the temperature of a substance will cause it to expand. The increased movement of the molecules due to the added energy from the heat causes the substance to take up more space, resulting in expansion.
In this example, the claim is a statement about the relationship between temperature and expansion. The evidence is the scientific explanation for this relationship, which is based on the behavior of molecules when they are heated. The reasoning is the explanation of how the evidence supports the claim.
CERs are a useful tool for evaluating scientific arguments, as they help to ensure that claims are supported by evidence and that the reasoning is logical and coherent. They are also a helpful way to communicate scientific ideas, as they clearly outline the relationship between the claim, the evidence, and the reasoning.