1. Describing Your World Entry #4

2. Learning by asking questions is called inquiry. Scientists use this same inquiry process as detectives to come up with theories that answer scientific questions. I. What is scientific inquiry?

3. II. Observations Observation is a key part of scientific inquiry. An observation is an accurate description Scientists regularly make two types of observations.

5. A. Qualitative observations A qualitative observation describes qualities such as color, shape, location, taste, loudness, warmth, etc. The honey mushroom forms clusters above the ground. Which quality is being described in this observation?

6. Quantitative observations use a number or measurement to describe something. B. Quantitative observations The honey mushroom forms clusters of 10 to 12 caps. Can you think of another quantitative observation?

7. III. Inference vs. observation An inference is different from an observation. An inference is an opinion you have or a judgment you make. If you infer the size of the honey mushroom only from the caps you see above ground, you missed a major discovery about this fungus.

8. Scientific evidence may include numbers, tables, graphs, words, pictures, sound recordings, or other information. IV. Scientific evidence

9. Scientific evidence must be objective and repeatable. Hooke’s drawings show in detail what he actually saw through the microscope. That means the drawings are objective. Others who looked through his microscope saw the same thing. That makes the evidence repeatable.