Observation, Inference & PredictingDescribing & Explaining

“I CAN”Explain difference between Observation & InferenceIdentify scientific skills and attitudes used to learn about the world around us

What Is Science?

• A special way of investigating & explaining the natural world

• Based on factual evidence provided by observation and data.

• Qualitative –vs- Quantitative• Relies on observing, inferring, & predicting• Scientific ideas can be tested

What are Observations?

• Seeing• Hearing• Feeling• Tasting• Smelling

Observations & Inference

Scientific Attitudes• Curiosity: A desire to know• Honesty & Integrity: fairness

and good conduct• Open-mindedness:

Receptive to argument or new ideas

• Skepticism: An attitude of doubt

• Creativity: having the ability to create new ideas, models, think outside the box

Inference, Hypothesis & Predicting

• When you try to explain or interpret things• Educated Guess• Predicting is making a forecast of what you

believe will happen in t he future basses on prior experiences.

• Example: You wake up and see water droplets on your window. Inference is?

• Prediction Is?

Panama Canal 1904 - 14• French Tried 1st

• 22 thousand died• Teddy Rosevelt Elected• Military Priority to

connect oceans• Dr. William Gorgas

sent to keep deaths down

•Gorgas Believed Malaria & Yellow Fever Transmitted by Mosquitoes.•Drained Swamps, Released Minniows, Cut Vegetation•Only 7 Malaria Deaths Over Next Two Decades

Big Bang Theory• Stars in Space Around Earth were though to be

arranged like layers of an onion• 1920’s Astronomer Edwin Hubble Discovered

Stars Part of Galaxies & Galaxies Were Moving• “Inferring” That if Galaxies Were Moving Apart

They Must Have All Been Together Once• “Big Bang” Theory Developed- Think Fireworks• By Working Backwards From Expansion Rate He

Calculated Universe Was Around 13 Billion Years Old

Pasteurization

• Louis Pasteur found bacteria in spoiled food.• He inferred / hypothesized that bacteria

caused food to spoil.• Predicted that if he could kill bacteria food

would not spoil.• Experiments showed that heat kills bacteria.• Today milk is heated or Pasteurized to make

milk last

Science Is Always ChangingWhy?

• As new ideas, observations, technology, data is collected, theories can change

• This is good for the advancement of science