EACHSECTIONWORTH5PTS.(30PTS.

)
Observing
Usingoneormoretouchestoobservetheworldsight,hearing,smell,taste,touchtogather
Twotypesofobservations,qualitativeandquantitative
qualitative
dontusenumbers
ex.theskyisblue
quantitative
observationsthatdealtwithnumber
ex.theplantgrew5in.thatyear

describea
qualitativeobservation
basedonthepicture
Thebluebirdshavebigeyes
describea
quantitativeobservation
basedonthepicture
Ithinktheirare100leaves
observationsareoftenusedtomakeinferences
explanationsforwhatwasobserved
inferencesaredifferentfromobservations
accurateobservationsarefactualstatements
example:Thatgirliswearingglassessoshehasbadeyesight.
inferencesarenotalwayscorrect
example:HehasablueshirtsohemustliketheDodgers.
tipsformakingobservations
useyoursensestoqualitativeobservations
reviewyourobservations
usetools/estimationtoquantitativeobservations

Inferring
definition:
explainingorinterruptinganobservationorstatement
inferencesshouldbe
logical

and
reasonable
example:3typesofseedsthathavemovedawayfromtheirparentplant

seed1floats
inference:Itsfromsomewhereelse.
seed2clingstofabric
inference:Itssticky.
seed3canfloatintheair
inference:Itsislightenoughtobecarriedbythewind
Priorknowledgeandpastexperiencescanhelpmakeaccurateinferences
alogicalinferenceisnotalwayscorrect
howtochecktomakesurethattheyarecorrectgathermoreinformation
tipsformakinganinference
basedonaccurateobservations
basedonqualitativeobservations,quantitativeobservations,orboth
reviewyourinferencestomakesuretheyrereasonable

Predicting
definition:
Makinganinferenceaboutafutureeventbasedonevidenceandpastexperiences
.
somepredictionsaregeneralotherpredictionsareveryspecific
example:howmanybooksyoullreadthismonth
(general)Iwillprobablyreadalotbooksthismonth.
(somewhatspecific)Iwillprobablyreadmorethan5books
(veryspecific)Iread2bookseachweekinamonthIread8booksmonth.
lookingforpatternscanhelptomakepredictions
youcanshowpatternsindatausingdatatables,charts,andgraphs
Pastexperiencescanalsohelptomakepredictions
example:darkcloudsinthesky

prediction:Itisprobablygoingtorain.
whyshouldpredictionsusedinsciencebespecific?
reason:
Theyarejusteasiertotest.
predictions
arenot
guesses
usingobservations,priorexperiences,andbackgroundknowledge.
predictionscanbewrong
apredictionmightbebasedonalloftheinformationavailable,butstillnotcometrue
example:Sportsgames
testingaprediction
method1:
Observations
method2:
Icanuseacontrolledexperiment
alloftheconditionsarekeptthesame,exceptforthemanipulatedvariable
tipsformakingpredictions
gatherasmuchbackgroundinformationaspossible
makepredictionsasspecificaspossibletocheckforaccuracy
useobservationsorcontrolledexperimentstocheckyourpredictions
ifyourpredictionisincorrect,reviseyourpredictionandreflectonwhatyouve
lear
ned


Classifying
definition:
Organizingobjectsoreventsintogroups
.
objectscanbeclassifiedby
size,shape,properties,oruse
bothlivingthingsandnonlivingthingscanbeclassified
classificationsystemsserveseveralpurposes
classificationmakefindinginformationeasier
classificationshowsthe
relationship
amongtheitemsbeingclassified
thereareoftenmultiplewaystoclassifythesameobjects
example:thesupermarketaisle

howcancerealbeclassifiedindifferentways?
1.Brands
2.Grains
3.Byprice
breakingdownclassificationgroups
someclassificationsystemsstartwithobjectsbeingdividedintotwogroups
othersystemsusethreeormorestartinggroups
thefirstlevelisthemostgenericclassification
eachlevelbelowthefirstlevelorganizesideastofurtherclassifyobjects
tipsforclassifying
thinkaboutthepurposeoftheclassification
makecarefulobservationsabouttheobjectstobeclassified
usesimilaritiesordifferencestoplaceobjectsintogroups
decideifgroupscanbebrokendownintosmallergroups


MakingModels
definition:
Pictures,diagramsorotherrepresentationsofobjectsorprocessors.
modelsareusedforseveralreasons
reason1:thingsmightbetoosmallofbig
reason2:somethingsmightbetoodangerous
reason3:somethingsmightbehardtoprocess
typesofmodelscantbeseen
physical
definition:
modelsthatlookliketheobjectbeingmodels
examples:Modelairplane(3dimensional),Map(2dimensional)
scale
definition:
madeordrawninproportiontotheactualobject.
examples:modelairplanes,Map
mental
definition:
cannotbeobserveddirectly
examples:planetforming,atomsexploding
super
definition:
examples:
watercycleexample

Whattypeofmodelisthis?
Itisaphysicalandmentalmodel.
Describethemodelanditscomponents.
Themodelshowsthewatercycle.ThecomponentsaretheSun,clouds,and
evaporation.
Couldyouturnthisintoa
scalemodel
?Whyorwhynot?
Wecanbutwecantcontrolthesunbecauseitistoobig.
tipsformakingmodels
thinkabouttheobjectorprocesstobemodeled
Whichmodelwouldbestrepresenttheobjectorprocess?
tomodelaprocess,taketimetothinkabouttheentireprocessbeforeyoubegin


Communicating
definition:
Theprocessofsharingideas
examples:GotoMcdonaldsandorderaBigMac
waysthatscientistscommunicatetheirresultsandideas:
ScientificJournal
ScientificGatherings
lettersandemail
effectivecommunicationallowsscientiststo
repeatexperiments
verifyresults
shareideasaboutfuturework
scientificcommunicationfollowstheseguidelines:
stepsinaninvestigationmustbedescribed
completely
and
clearly
reason
:Sowecanrepeatit
alldataandobservationsmustbe
recorded
reason:
Wewanttoknowifwemakemistakes
inferencesshouldbereportedseparatelyfromobservations
reason:Sowefinditlcanitlateron
reviewtheworktomakesureitsfreefrom
bias
reason:
youwanttobeobjectiveandonlylookatthefacts
typesofcommunication
oral
definition:
Sharingideasbytalkingandlistening
examples:Scientistshavingaconference
importanttips:
shareideasinawaytheaudienceunderstands
speakclearlyandslowly

written

Whatwasthemiscommunicationinthisexample?Howcouldthingshavebeen
donebetter?
miscommunication:Theydidntlistenanddroppedtheperson.
solution:Thepersonshouldspeaklouderandsaythedirectionsmore
clearly.

 definition:
Sharingideasinwrittenform.
examples:Scientificjournalsandlabreports

Howcanwrittencommunicationbemadelesseffective?
Ifyoudontreaditoritiswrittenverypoorly
tipsforcommunicatinginscience
describeyourobservationscompletelyandhonestly
dontleaveoutobservationsthatwereunwantedornotwhatyouhopedfor
wheneverpossible,usedatatablestorecordyourobservations
writedownyourprocedure
reason:Sootherscanduplicateit
showyourworkcalculations,formulas,etc.

Howcantherebemiscommunicationorpoorcommunication?
reason1(oral):
possiblesolution:
reason2(written):
possiblesolution: