Any information collected with the 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

The skill of describing scientific events

Number your paper to ten. Read the following examples and decide whether

they are Qualitative (QL) or Quantitative (QNT).

______ The candy was sour______ The bug was 5 cm long______ The flower is red______ The mass of the box is 122g______ My fingernail is 2cm long

______ The slug was slimy______ The laptop is white______ She is 150cm tall______ His hair is black______ You have 3 sisters

Conclusions or deductions based on observations.

The process of drawing a conclusion from given evidence.

Differences between observation and inference

Inferences can be very useful, they become the basis for a hypothesis. However, inferences can cause problems if they are taken as observations because they may be wrong or leading to further wrong ideas.

Practice

Observations:•I hear people screaming•I smell cotton candy, popcorn, and hamburgers

•I see a lot of people Inference = ?

Look at these two sets of animal tracks.

List 3 OBSERVATIONS

Make an INFERENCE

Make 3 OBSERVATIONS

Make an INFERENCE

Make 3 OBSERVATIONS

Make an INFERENCE

In closing… Why is it easy or difficult to

distinguish between observation and inferences?

Did you find yourself using information you previously knew? (movies, books)