Observation: The First Step in the Scientific Method

To observe means to look at something carefully and to notice the details. When people observe things they often wonder why it is that way. Scientists work to answer that question. They make observations as the first step to the scientific method.

Observations are also called data. There are two kinds of data. Qualitative data are descriptions that do not have numbers. Quantitative data are obtained by measuring and have numbers. Scientists use instruments (tools) to obtain numbers based data.

Example: It is very bright outside is an example of qualitative data.

The student's light meter read 30,000 lux, on the playground at 1200 hours is quantitative data.

It is important to be a careful observer. The smallest detail can be important to finding the answer to a question.

Practice observing by looking at this photo. I saw this phenomena in my backyard on 09/16/2007 at 0615.
(Please note the line was one continuous line. I was not successful in photographing that. My son used Photoshop to stitch the photos together)

Facing North

Click here for a closer view. Use the Back Button of your browser to return to this webpage.

1. Write your observations - one per line - on a piece of paper.

 

2. Imagine - If you were standing in the scene:

What tools (instruments) would help you to be a better observer?

What tools (instruments) might you use to measure what you are observing?

 

3. Fire up your imagination or curiosity. Write at least two hypothesis about what you have observed.

 

4. Predict - Do you expect that this yellow line will remain all day?

"The young specialist in English Lit, ...lectured me severely on the fact that in every century people have thought
they understood the Universe at last, and in every century they were proved to be wrong.
It follows that the one thing we can say about our modern "knowledge" is that it is wrong." Isaac Asimov

FAQ Posted by Cynthia J. O'Hora 9/2007, released for noncommercial use by nonprofit organizations

Aligned with Pennsylvania Academic Standards

Save a tree use a digital answer format - Highlight the text. Copy it. Paste it in a word processing document. Save the document in your folder. Answer on the wp document in an easily read, contrasting color or font. (Not yellow ) nor fancy fonts like Symbols, Techno, fancy fonts) Make your own printer paper answer sheet Proof read your responses. It is funny how speling errors and typeos sneak in to the bets work.