CER and Science Skills
What does CER stand for?
Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning.
What is a physical property?
A characteristic of a material that can be observed or measured.
What is everything around us made of?
Matter.
What is matter?
Anything that has mass and takes up space.
What is a physical change?
A change in which no new substance forms.
What is a claim?
A statement that answers a scientific question.
Is color qualitative or quantitative data?
Qualitative.
What is matter made up of?
Tiny particles that are too small to see.
What happens when ice melts?
It changes from a solid to a liquid.
What is a chemical change?
A change in which a new substance forms.
What is evidence?
Observations or data that support a claim.
Is measuring length qualitative or quantitative?
Quantitative.
What happens when air is added to a basketball?
Air particles fill the basketball and cause it to expand.
Does matter disappear when it changes form?
No.
Is melting ice a physical or chemical change?
Physical change.
What is reasoning?
Explaining how evidence supports your claim.
What property describes how easily something dissolves?
Solubility.
What happens to sugar when it dissolves in water?
Sugar particles spread throughout the water.
What happens to the total mass when matter changes from a solid to a liquid?
The total mass stays the same.
What are macroplastics?
Large pieces of plastic that can be seen without a microscope.
Why do scientists use CER?
To explain scientific ideas using evidence and reasoning.
Name three properties scientists can use to identify materials.
Color, hardness, reflectivity, conductivity, magnetism, or solubility. (Any three.)
How can scientists represent particles they cannot see?
By creating a model or drawing showing the particles.
A freeze pop melts. Does its total mass change? Explain.
No. It changes from a solid to a liquid, but the total mass is conserved.
How can plastic trash travel from land into the ocean?
Through drains, rivers, runoff, and other waterways.