Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 9+) · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Writing up what your evidence shows

Science · Scientific Inquiry · ages 9-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which sentence correctly shows a causal relationship?

    • The seeds grew and also the sun was out.
    • The extra sunlight caused the seeds to sprout faster, because the plants used the light to grow.
    • The seeds were green and the sun was yellow.

  2. Which sentence is written the way a scientist reports a result?

    • The plants got kinda big and stuff.
    • The plants grown with fertilizer reached an average height of 12 cm.
    • Plants are cool and they grew a lot.

  3. True or false: If you test something only one time, you can fully trust the result.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A group tested plant growth three times: 4 cm, 6 cm, and 5 cm. What is the average growth in cm?

    Answer: ______________

  5. Ben wrote: 'The plant did stuff after the test.' What is missing to make this a strong written conclusion?

    • Specific facts and scientific words about what changed
    • More exclamation marks
    • A drawing of the plant

  6. Look at the chart. Which conclusion best matches the evidence?

    1 cupwater43 cupswater9
    • More water caused the plants to grow taller, because the 3-cup group grew more than double the height of the 1-cup group.
    • The color of the pot caused the plants to grow taller.
    • Water has no effect on plant height.

  7. A class measured plant heights with a bent ruler. How does this affect their trust in the results?

    • It makes no difference at all
    • It means the plants grew imaginary heights
    • It could throw off every measurement by a similar amount, making the results less trustworthy

  8. Maya tested one plant in sunlight and a different plant with music playing nearby. The sunlight plant grew taller. Maya wrote: 'Music caused the other plant to grow shorter.' What is wrong with her conclusion?

    • She changed two things at once, so she can't be sure which one caused the difference
    • Music can never affect plants
    • Her handwriting is messy
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Writing up what your evidence shows W1-mt_nyPMkeHlVJ-s1

  1. The extra sunlight caused the seeds to sprout faster, because the plants used the light to grow. · This sentence names the cause, the effect, and explains the link between them.
  2. The plants grown with fertilizer reached an average height of 12 cm. · A scientific write-up uses exact numbers and plain, specific words instead of vague ones.
  3. False · A single test can be thrown off by chance or error. Repeating it shows whether the result holds up.
  4. 5 · Add the three readings (4 + 6 + 5 = 15) and divide by 3. Repeat readings help smooth out small differences.
  5. Specific facts and scientific words about what changed · A conclusion needs exact details, like what changed and by how much, not vague words.
  6. More water caused the plants to grow taller, because the 3-cup group grew more than double the height of the 1-cup group. · The chart shows a clear height difference tied to the amount of water, which supports this causal claim.
  7. It could throw off every measurement by a similar amount, making the results less trustworthy · Possible errors in tools or method are exactly what you weigh when deciding how much to trust a result.
  8. She changed two things at once, so she can't be sure which one caused the difference · Since sunlight and music both differed between the plants, the evidence does not support blaming music alone.
Worksheet · LightMySky