1. What Scientists Do and Why They Do It
Scientific Inquiry
What Scientists Do and Why They Do It

2. What Is Scientific Inquiry
How Scientists
- Think
- Observe
- Experiment
- Validate Their Ideas

3. Think Like A Scientist
1. Observation: gathering information by using one or more of your senses.
- Smelling
- Seeing
- Touching
- Hearing
- Tasting

4. What Do We Use To Make Observations?
2. Instruments: devices used to extend our senses
EX. Thermometer, ruler, microscope

5. What Do We Do With All Of These Observations?
3. Gives us a lot of:
DATA

6. Types of Data
Qualitative = Data obtained by using your senses. Descriptive Ex: the paper feels rough, the leaves are red.
Quantitative = Data obtained by using tools to take measurements, numbers
Ex: the paper clip weighs gram, it is 92° outside.

7. Data Gives Us Ideas IDEAS
6. Inferences: an educated guess that logically
follows a set of observations.
IDEAS

8. Inferences can be right or wrong
Ex: You observe your neighbor’s garden plants are tall and green.
You know the neighbor fertilizes the garden
INFERENCE: the fertilizer causes the plants to grow tall and be green.

9. Observation Skills Practice