Evidence, Inference & Claims Write at least the statements in blue
Ancient Greek philosophers started the scientific tradition of logical thinking, but they sometimes missed out on an important aspect – gathering evidence.
Many philosophers developed their claims through contemplation and thought rather than experimental procedure, which sometimes led to errors.
Aristotle contemplated these facts: *Males are larger than females, and have more room in their mouths *Males fight more than females, and sometimes use teeth to fight *Males eat more than females, and teeth are required to eat
“In mammals, males have more teeth Aristotle made this claim: “In mammals, males have more teeth than females.”
**Our claims must always be based on evidence, not just logical ideas. If he had conducted a survey, he would have found that males and females have the same number of teeth. **Our claims must always be based on evidence, not just logical ideas. (Write this down in your notes)
Do some reading to find out more about making inferences.
Some scientists investigate things that they cannot observe directly. For example, scientists cannot see dinosaurs, the bottom of the ocean, or atoms and molecules. Still, scientists want to know more about these things, so they gather evidence about them in other ways. Q1. What is the topic of this passage? Label Q1 in your notebook and write your answer.
For example, they make observations of fossil dinosaur droppings or measure the amount of time it takes sound to travel to the bottom of the ocean. Although atoms and molecules are too small to see, scientists use very powerful tools to gather evidence about them. Q2. Name 3 examples of ways scientists infer. Label Q2 in your notebook and write your answer.
Once scientists have gathered evidence, they use it to make inferences about the things they are investigating. For example, when scientists figure out what is in a fossil dinosaur dropping, they can then make inferences about what the dinosaur ate when it was alive. Q3. What do we need to do before making an inference? Write Q3 in your notebook and write your answer.
They are not observing the dinosaur eating—they are using evidence to make an inference. Similarly, by measuring the amount of time it takes for sound to travel to the ocean floor, scientists are able to make inferences about how deep the ocean is and what the ocean floor is like. Q4. What is the difference between evidence and inference? Write Q4 in your notebook and write your answer.
Over time, scientists gather more evidence and become more and more sure of the inferences they have made. Q5. Make your own inference: Do scientists ever “change their minds” about claims they have made? Write Q5 in your notebook and write your answer.
Where is this kid and what is he doing? Evidence: Inference:
What happened here? Inference
What is the occassion? Evidence: Inference:
What happened? Evidence: Inference:
What the ??? Evidence: Inference:
What happened here? Inference
What is he trying to prove… Evidence: Inference:
What happened here? Inference
What happened here? Inference
What happened here? Inference
Let’s examine some multiple sources of evidence and put them together to make an inference: We had some neighbors move in last week, and I want to know more about them before I deliver a house warming gift. I stole some of their trash… (Put multiple inferences together to make a claim)
I found … Evidence: Inference:
I found… Evidence: Inference:
I found… Evidence: Inference:
I found a poster… Evidence: Inference:
I found… Evidence: Inference:
I found… Evidence: Inference:
How many children are in the family? What are their approximate ages? Evidence Claim
Big Ideas: 1- All science knowledge is based on evidence. 3- Science knowledge is always changing. 2- When we get new evidence that is different from before, we change our ideas to include the new evidence, but we still keep the old evidence too.