Observations: The leaves on this tree are green in August. This apple is crunchy and sweet. Tonight’s dinner smells like baked meat loaf. Crystal’s hair is shorter than Annie’s hair. The red car crossed the finish line before the blue car.

Inferences: The leaves on this tree are green in August because of the presence of a green pigment called chlorophyll in the chloroplasts of certain cells. Apples are crunchy and sweet because of selective cultivation of apple trees. Tonight’s dinner smells like baked meat loaf; I’m sure that’s what it is. Crystal’s hair is shorter than Annie’s hair; she must have it cut more often. The red car crossed the finish line before the blue car; I think it had a more skilled driver.

Sample Candle Comments: observation or inference? Smoking Fire Burning Wax dripping Wax melting White object Cylindrical Wick at the top Candle

Practice Problems: Determine whether each of the following statements is better classified as an observation or inference. Describe your reasoning. The object is orange. It is 5 cm long. There are letters on the object. It tastes like salt. It is a blueberry. It is a shiny coin. The book has white pages. The book contains letters. The book is a Bible.

Questions: Why might it be useful to distinguish observations from inferences? We were all observing the same, factual object. Does that guarantee that our inferences will be correct? Why not? Some of our inferences turned out to be mistaken. Does that mean we were not really seeing something real? Were we just making things up? Could we function without making any inferences at all? (For instance, without identifying one object as “food” and another as “trash”?) We depend on inferences and models that could be mistaken. So is everything relative, with only opinion to go by? Or are inferences a part of getting at the real world? How is the process of making inferences and revising them related to pride or humility?