Observation & Inference

Observations Any information collected with our five senses. Quantitative – measureable or countable »3 meters long »4 marbles »50 kilograms »35 degrees Celsius Qualitative – describable, not measureable »red flowers »smells like fresh baked cookies »Tastes bitter A skill for describing scientific events

Observations Objective an observation based on fact fact – a piece of information that can be strictly defined and proved true. Subjective an observation based on opinion opinion – a statement that expresses a belief, value, or feeling

Observations Science looks like fun today. Kanye West’s songs sound good. The Smartboard is white and grey. Poutine taste good. The summer was too short. There are sixty seconds in a minute.

Inference Conclusions based on observations. The process of drawing a conclusion from evidence or observation Practice: Observations: I hear people screaming. I smell cotton candy, popcorn, and vomit. I see a lot of people. Inference = ?

Look at these two sets of animal tracks. List 3 OBSERVATIONS Make an INFERENCE

Now what do you think? Make 3 OBSERVATIONS Make an INFERENCE

Now what do you think? Make 3 OBSERVATIONS Make an INFERENCE