Science Process Skills
Find the 6 differences between the two
pictures.
Find the 6 differences between the two pictures.
Answers: Tail feathers, snake’s tail, branch, ape’s finger, croc’s nostril, sun
Observations
 Using your 5 senses - what you see,
hear, feel, smell & taste* - to describe
something and collect detailed information
 The basis of the inquiry process
 It begins an investigation & continues throughout
it.
 Gather your evidence
 * with permission only
Take a good look at this picture
Questions
 Are there cars parked on the sides of the road?
 What color is the pickup truck driving in the road?
 Any minivans around?
 What does the blue sign say?
 What's the speed limit?
 Are there any pedestrians on the road?
Answers
 Are there cars parked on the sides of
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the road?
Yes
What color is the pickup truck driving
in the road?
Blue
Any minivans around?
Yes
What does the blue sign say?
Yard Sale
What's the speed limit?
35 mph
Are there any pedestrians on the road?
No
Which observations would be good in
science class?
 It felt funny.
 The plant was brown and wrinkled and laying flat in
the dirt.
 The rock is smooth, flat, & cool to touch.
 It smells gross.
 It’s cool.
 White with rough ridges.
 The leaf is very small.
 The leaf is oval shaped and @ 2 inches long.
How many legs does the elephant have?
The square has straight sides
Duck or bunny?
There are no grey dots in this picture
They are all the same height
The circles are not moving
The shapes are not moving
2 Types of Observations
 Qualitative: describe what we observe.
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Qualitative = quality (descriptive) No numbers
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Ex’s: 1. The flower is blue.
2. The flower smells sweet
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 QuaNtitative: Numbers; measure what we observe.
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QuaNtitative = quantity (numerical)
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Ex’s: 1. There are three petals on the flower.
2. The flower is 6 cm in height.
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Let’s Practice!
QuaLitative
QuaNtitative
QuaNtitative or QuaLitative
 The cup had a mass of 454 grams
 QUAN
 The temperature outside is 250 C
 QUAN
 It is warm outside
 QUAL
 The tree is 30 feet tall.
 QUAN
 The building has 25 stories
 QUAN
QuaNtitative or QuaLitative
 The building is taller than the tree.
 QUAN
 The sidewalk is long.
 QUAL
 The sidewalk is 100 meters long.
 QUAN
 The race was over quickly.
 QUAL
 The race was over in 10 minutes.
 QUAN
An inconsiderate slob dumped trash on Rachel Rabbit's lawn.
One of these two suspects is guilty. Slylock Fox found
evidence that may identify the loathsome litterbug.
What did Slylock observe to help him identify the trash tosser?
 Slylock found bones in the trash.
 The bull is an herbivore and only eats
plants.
 The raccoon is an omnivore and eats both
plants and animals.
 The raccoon is the trash tosser.
Inferences
 An logical explanation or interpretation
about things we observe
 Based upon prior knowledge and experience
Make an 3
inferences from
the picture of the
computer and the
keyboard.
In the Science Lab:
 In experiments, record observations NOT
inferences
 Inferences may be used when writing the
conclusion in your lab report.
Practice Making Inferences
 Observation: You observe a dejected-looking
student leaving the principals office.
 Inference: That student was in trouble.
 Observation: You see several people leaving
a movie-theater red-eyed and blowing their
noses.
 Inference: They just saw a sad movie.
More Inferences
 Observation: You observe the sky at noon is
darkening.
 Inference: A storm is coming.
 Observation: The principal interrupts the class and
calls a student from the room.
 Inference: The principal has something important
to discuss with that student.
 Observation: All middle school students are
bringing their lunch from home.
 Inference: The food in the cafeteria is poor.
Even More Inferences:
 Observation: A former rock-and-roll band member has
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poor hearing.
Inference: Loud music can damage hearing.
Observation: You leave a movie theater and see the
street is wet.
Inference: It rained while you were in the movie
theater
Observation: A siren is heard going past the school.
Inference: An emergency vehicle just went by.
Someone nearby is hurt or in trouble.
Tracks like these are common in
parts of New England and in the
southwestern United States.
What do you OBSERVE?
What can you INFER?
Now what
do you
think?
Infer what happened based on your observations.
What inferences can you make from
the following pictures?
Prediction
A statement of what may happen in
the future based on observations,
data, experience or scientific
reason
Observations = what you know
Inferences = what you conclude
Predictions = what you think will
happen in the future
Observations & Inferences
In Notebook
 1 observation
 1 inference
 1 prediction
Using Observations to Make
Predictions Lab
 In Pairs:
 1 bag of gum drops
 1 paper plate
 1 plastic knife
 Read and follow all
direction
 Take turns - 1 person cuts
a gum drops in half – the
other person chooses which
half they want first.
 Answer conclusion
questions in complete
sentences on notebook
paper. Staple to lab sheet
and turn in.
 HW if not done.
Practice Observing
 Will take a card to find your table. Remember your card.
 The person with the spades
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will bring me the cards
Stand around table, do not uncover the tray.
When I say go, the person who drew the club card
will uncover the tray.
You will have 2 minutes to look at the tray – SILENTLY
When I say stop, the person with the hearts card
will
cover the tray.
You will have 4 minutes to list as many items as you
remember – SILENTLY
Let’s see how you did
For Fun!
 Get into groups of 2 (or 3)
 Face each other for one minute
 Turn away from each other
 The person with the longest first name goes first.
 One person changes one thing on them.
 The other people in the group have to decide what was
changed.
 How well did you do?