Earth
REASON
Now that you have collected data, it's time make sense of it. Compare your data to other scientific data sets. Make a claim about whether the suitable or unsuitable for its purpose, using your data as evidence and other data as the basis for your REASONing.
MAKING SENSE OF YOUR DATA
Based on an analysis of the data you collected in the GATHER stage, does your initial explanation of the phenomenon "hold water" when applied to the creek or stream you tested? Have you learned anything that could help you revise or refine your explanation to be more accurate and complete? For instance:
- If you gathered other data, display it in a graph to make it easier to spot patterns or trends and analyze their significance. Try this online graph-maker: Create A Graph. Think about how you could compare your data to a standard. What would be your authoritative source? What conclusions about water quality can you draw from your data and findings?
MAKING A CLAIM ABOUT SOIL QUALITY, BASED ON THE DATA
Convert your explanation to a claim about the soil quality of the location you tested. Note this C-E-R form and scoring rubric you can use to make your argument.
- Make a Claim that answers the question: What is the soil quality of the creek we tested?
- Support the claim with Evidence (test results and other data you gathered).
- Connect the evidence to the claim with scientific Reasoning by comparing your data to the ideal level (the standard) for each parameter such as phosphates, nitrates, and soil pH. Explain the significance of your findings, according to a a scientific principle or an authoritative source.
- Revise the claim to be consistent with the evidence, if necessary.
IDENTIFYING A PROBLEM AND FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO IT
Based on your claim, evidence (data), and reasoning, what problems are affecting the location's soil quality? (Hint: Were there there any parameters for which the data was not in an acceptable range? If all the test results were ideal, are there any pollutants for which you did not test? How could you find out more about those parameters?)
Select one of your location's water quality problems and focus on its causes, its consequences or effects, and and their significance. Identify and write about this problem in the Reason section of your Portfolio. Identify factors that cause or contribute to the problem. Consider what happens as a result of this problem. Why does it matter?