Writing Science Reports
Communicate scientific findings in a structured report using appropriate scientific vocabulary, SI units, and standard notation; describe how peer review and replication contribute to the reliability of scientific knowledge
What a learner can do afterwards
- Writes a structured scientific report including aim, hypothesis, method, results, conclusion, and evaluation using appropriate scientific vocabulary
- Uses SI units and standard form consistently throughout a report
- Explains what peer review is and why replication by independent researchers is essential for scientific claims to be accepted
The lesson
A science report lets other people read what you did, check your thinking, and repeat your experiment. To do that clearly, every report follows the same structure and uses exact scientific language.
Two things make your report precise. First, always use SI units, like grams (g), metres (m), seconds (s), or degrees Celsius (°C), never made-up or mixed units. Second, write very large or very small numbers in standard form, such as 4.5 × 10^7 m instead of 45000000 m.
A student tests plant growth with and without fertiliser. In the results section she writes: 'Group A (fertiliser) averaged 18 cm. Group B (no fertiliser) averaged 12 cm.' The chart below shows the same data.
A report isn't accepted as solid science just because one person got a result. Other scientists read it (peer review) and try the experiment themselves (replication). If they get similar results, the finding becomes trustworthy.
A science report has a clear structure, exact SI units and standard form, and only counts as reliable once peer review and replication back it up.
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