September 1st – Welcome Back!

Learning Outcomes Be able to make an

observation and inference

Spark curiosity in science

TO DO List (5 min)

Pick up the two journal paste-in sheets from the side counter and start two new journal entries:

– Metric System Basics

– Mystery Footprints• Glue them in and update your

table of contents!

Ponder the Questions:– What caused the scientific

revolution?

– Where did the scientific method come from?

Where did the scientific method come from?

Church = knowledge Age of exploration = new things arriving that

don’t match current systems…making people look at world more closely and question

Copernicus = Sun is center of earth…for long, long time it was believed the earth was at the center.

Cont’ Church & science are in conflict

– Galileo goes to trial– Church is in question

A new way of thinking– How do we know what we know?– How do we find truth to questions?

• SCIENTIFIC METHOD IS BORN!

Impacts on society– If there is order to nature…can we use this thinking to

find order to society, humans, poverty, government– This leads to some of the thinkers that impacted

constitution

Science Truth & Facts

Scientific truth & facts are based on data & evidence

Data comes from observations & testing Observations & testing comes from asking

questions Asking questions is the heart of scientific

reasoning

Science Mindset…

the main goal is not "getting the right answer" - but rather understanding how scientists try to solve problems and answer questions about the natural world.

modified by Liz LaRosa www.middleschoolscience.com 2009, from original posted at:www.science-class.net/PowerPoints/Observation_Inference_8th.ppt

Observation & Inference

Observations Any information collected with the senses.

• Quantitative – measureable or countable• 3 meters long

• 4 marbles

• 50 kilograms

• 35 degrees Celsius

• Qualitative – describable, not measureable • red flowers

• smells like fresh baked cookies

• Tastes bitter

• Heard a loud “pop”

The skill of describing scientific events

Inference Conclusions or deductions based on observations. The process of drawing a conclusion from given evidence.

Practice: Observations:

• I hear people screaming• I smell cotton candy, popcorn, and hamburgers• I see a lot of people

Inference = ?

Look at these two sets of animal tracks.

List 3 OBSERVATIONS

Make an INFERENCE

Now what do you think?

Make 3 OBSERVATIONS

Make an INFERENCE

Now what do you think?

Make 3 OBSERVATIONS

Make an INFERENCE

What can we learn from that?

Science is tentative – it can change as new evidence presents itself

We never truly know the “right” answer…there is no “right” answer…just best ideas based on what we know from data

We are always making new hypothesis and testing those ideas

STORY #1

There is a cabin on the side of a mountain. Three people are inside and they are dead. How did they die?

Answer: They were killed in a plane crash The three people were the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator. They crashed in snow storm.

False Assumption: That the cabin was a mountain cabin. It was actually the cabin of a jetliner.

STORY #2

It is a hot August afternoon. The location is the living room in an old Victorian mansion. The 7-foot window is open and the curtains are blowing in the breeze generated by the thunderstorm that just passed. On the floor lie the bodies of Bill and Monica. They are surrounded by puddles of water and broken glass. Please close your eyes and picture the scene. Now change the picture. Neither Bill nor Monica has any clothing on. How did they die?

Answer: They suffocated. The storm winds blew open the window, which knocked their fish bowl off the table, and it crashed onto the floor.

False assumption: That Bill and Monica are human. They are actually goldfish.

STORY #3

A woman leaves home and makes three left turns. She returns home again. On the way, she passed two people with masks.Who were the two people?

Answer: The umpire and the catcher. False Assumption: That the woman was

walking on city streets. She really is on a baseball field

STORY #9

There is an ancient invention still used in some parts of the world today that allows people to see through walls. What is it?

Answer: Windows. False Assumptions: The walls are totally solid and opaque.The

walls are not part of a house. Somehow, windows weren’t “invented”. Windows aren’t that ancient. “Some parts of the world” means only a few places, not commonly found.

What can we learn from that?

Question help us further our knowledge