Observation or explanation?
20 minutes · Paper · Pencil
Your investigation
- Make two headings: observation and possible explanation.
- Sort these statements: “the image shows a channel”; “water may have flowed here”; “the graph has a dip”; “a planet may have crossed the star.”
- Pair each observation with its possible explanation.
- Invent a different explanation for one observation and name a measurement that could help test it.
Think, draw, explain
Which statements report what was measured?
Why should scientists consider more than one explanation?
Grown-up guide & possible answers
- The visible channel and graph dip are observations. Flowing water and a crossing planet are proposed explanations for those observations.
- Different processes can produce similar evidence. Additional measurements help distinguish explanations; scientific confidence grows through testing rather than guessing once.