Florida SC.3.N.1.7
The Standard
Explain that empirical evidence is information, such as observations or measurements, that is used to help validate explanations of natural phenomena.
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students collect observations and measurements about an event in nature. They use those facts to support or challenge an explanation, rather than relying on guesses or opinions.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can describe what they saw or measured, record it accurately, and explain how it supports a claim. They can also identify evidence that does not match an explanation.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat opinions, predictions, or facts from memory as direct evidence. They may think one observation proves an explanation or ignore measurements that do not fit. Some confuse an explanation with the evidence supporting it.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: An ice cube leaves a puddle after 20 minutes, and the thermometer reads 24°C. Ask, “What is the evidence, and what explanation does it support?”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Place ice cubes in sun and shade, record melting times, then use the measurements to explain which location warmed the ice faster.
Show a photo of wet grass and ask students to write one possible explanation and list evidence needed to test it.
Play Evidence or Opinion with cards such as “the leaf is 8 centimeters long” and “this is the prettiest leaf.”
Compare yesterday’s rain gauge reading with playground puddles, then explain how both observations support a claim about recent rainfall.
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Printable SC.3.N.1.7 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SC.3.N.1.7, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- SC.5.N.2.1
Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable; explanation must always be linked with evidence.
- SC.7.N.1.6
Explain that empirical evidence is the cumulative body of observations of a natural phenomenon on which scientific explanations are based.
- SC.4.N.1.3
Explain that science does not always follow a rigidly defined method ("the scientific method") but that science does involve the use of observations and empiric...
- SC.4.N.1.7
Recognize and explain that scientists base their explanations on evidence.
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