The Writing of the Scientific Paper To Help Students Process Water Quality Data.

This paper describes how a water monitoring program uses a science research paper to help students apply knowledge learned from the field, the lab, and class discussion. The application consists of examining water quality data of a river and determining what factors had an impact on the river, either biotic or abiotic. Students are asked to analyze and draw conclusions from site data. The learning outcomes for the student include an awareness of the cause and effect relationship of biotic and abiotic factors as they relate to water quality. Steps students can use to conduct water monitoring in local waterways and how to present their results in a science research paper are outlined. (AIM)