Scientist’s Full Name ______________________________
College __________________________
Date ___________________________
Subject _________________________
Lesson 4: What is a scientific observation?
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
A scientific observation has qualitative and quantitative measures.
Qualitative observations use your senses to observe the results. (sight, smell,
touch, hear, taste)
Quantitative observations are made with instruments, such as rulers, balances,
graduated cylinders, beakers, thermometers. These results are measurable.
 Read the following examples. Write 1 for qualitative, 2 for quantitative.
1. It is light green in color. ________ (1 or 2)
2. It taste sour. ______ (1 or 2)
3. One leaf is 9 cm long. ____ (1 or 2)
4. It makes a loud pop sound. ____ (1 or 2)
5. The mass of the computer is 1 1/2 kg. ____ (1 or 2)
6. It smells sweet. ____ (1 or 2)
7. The temperature of the room increases by 8 degrees C. ____ (1 or 2)
8. It gets darker over a period of time. ____ (1 or 2)
9. The flower clusters in 3 blooms. ____ (1 or 2)
10. Feels very rough. ____ (1 or 2)
11. The plant is short. ____ (1 or 2)
12. Leaves are stiff. ____ (1 or 2)
13. The veins are 3 mm wide. ____ (1 or 2)
 Which type of observation do you think is more scientific, qualitative or
quantitative? Why?
An exemplar scientific observation has:
 a paragraph about what can be seen, touched, smelled, tasted, and/or heard
[qualitative]
 a sketch/drawing with all important parts labeled [qualitative]
 date, time and measurements, this includes recording anything that was done
(examples: height of plant; I added 30 mL of water) [Don’t forget your
units!] [quantitative]
 thoughts or questions about what is happening (Example: How is the room
temperature affecting the plant growth?) [qualitative]
Scientist’s Full Name ______________________________
College __________________________
Date ___________________________
Subject _________________________
Homework for Lesson 4— What is a scientific observation?
Directions: Do not name what the object is until the end!
 a paragraph about what can be seen, touched, smelled, tasted, and/or heard
[qualitative] (1 point)
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 a sketch/drawing with all important parts labeled [qualitative] (1 point)
 date, time and measurements (examples: height, weight, temperature…)
[quantitative] (1 point)
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 thoughts or questions about what is happening [qualitative] (1 point)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(fold on dotted line)
Name of Object:
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