Thinking Like a Scientist

Introduction Watching a volcanic eruption, you might ask yourself questions such as: “What is lava?” and “Where does lava form?” In asking these questions, you are thinking like a scientist. volcanology.geol.ucsb.edu

Science A way of learning about the natural world. As scientists seek to understand the natural world, they use skills such as: –Observing –Inferring –Predicting acornsys.com ehow.com scientificamerican.com

Observation Using one or more of your senses to gather information. 5 senses: –Sight –Hearing –Touch –Taste –Smell

Ex. What observation can be drawn from this picture? anitasquicktips.edublogs.org

Inferring When you explain or interpret the things you observe. An inference is based on reasoning from what your already know. It is not a wild guess. ereadingworksheets.blogspot.com

Ex. What do you infer from the following picture?

Predicting Making a forecast of what will happen in the future based on past experience or evidence.

Ex. What do you predict will happen?

Summary Congratulations on completing your first set of Cornell notes. Develop a summary based on the information you learned today.

In our notes today in science, we learned the 3 main skills in order to think like a scientist. The 3 skills are: observing, inferring, and predicting. Making an observation means to use one or more of your senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell). Inferring means to explain what you observe. When you make a prediction, it is a forecast of what you think will happen next or in the future. Again, the three main skills to think like a scientist are: observing, inferring, and predicting.