Transcript Observation vs. Inference

Observation vs. Inference
Mrs. Aguinaga
Please list the similarities and
differences between these statements
1. When I rang the doorbell,
no one answered.
2. The Sun set at 8:15 P.M.
3. The beaker contains 250 mL
of water.
4. A gas was formed when I
mixed the two liquids
together.
1. That sounded like a mean
dog.
2. Those clouds look like its
going to rain.
3. Corn must be her favorite
vegetable because she ate a
lot.
4. Jill must be very popular.
Observation
• Use your 5 senses.
• Recognizing and noting some fact to gather
information about the world.
• Observations must be specific and accurate.
• Example:
(Incorrect): The Burning bag smelled nasty.
(Correct): The burning bag smelled similar to rotten
eggs.
2 Types of Observations:
#1 Qualitative Observations: Factual
descriptions that don’t use numbers.
Example: Mr. Jones has Blue eyes.
#2 Quantitative Observations: Factual
descriptions that do use numbers.
Example: Mr. Jones has two (2) eyes.
Inference
• A possible explanation or guess about an
observation.
• Example:
When I came out of the movie theatre, the
ground was wet. It rained.