Observation & Inference

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

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

Observation & Inference