—Take a picture of an aquarium with fish in the classroom or find a picture online. Define and give examples of an observation, an inference and an opinion you could make about the picture. What makes a good observation? Why is observation important in scientific inquiry? Do inferences and opinions have a place in science? Explain your answer.
Observation(s) can be defined as: (1) The act of attentive watching, perceiving, or noticing
(2) The data measured, collected, perceived or noticed, especially during an experiment
One of the observations that I can clearly make about this tank is that there are multiple fish living in it, it is a fairly large tank and does not appear to be crowded. The tank has live plants and plenty of hiding places. The fish are staying more towards the top and there are groups of the same breed of fish. The left side has more of a protective barrier reef for the fish and the light seems to be centered in the middle. The plants appear to be healthy and the tank water is very clear and easy to see-through. Their appears to be a solid color background behind the tank. The fish appear to be tropical, community centered breeds of fish. The substrate is either a small gravel or sand. The wood looks real as well as the rocks. All of the fish are on the fairly small side, no large predators or any bottom feeders. There is also a terra-cot pot on the right side that allows fish to go into and hide if startled. I do not see a filter or aerator at all in this image.
A Inference can be defined as: The logical process of passing from observations and axioms to generalizations; in statistics, the development of generalizations from sample data, usually with calculated degrees of uncertainty.
Some inferences I can make about this tank is that it has a well maintained ecosystem going on, the plant life and fish are thriving and do not show any signs of aggressive activity. These fish are able to breathe air from the top and do not need a filter or aerator. The live plants and wood and rocks provide adequate shelter so that the fish do not become stressed.
An opinion can be defined as: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
My opinion about this tank is that it is placed very well, well-lit and has some beautiful colors and fish swimming around it. Somebody must have spent a lot of time and precision trying to place everything and obviously has knowledge with fish and aquariums.
A good observation would be one that goes above and beyond to describe the detail of what is going on, and can be observed over and over again to make sure that everything is consistent. It contains no opinions what so ever. All five senses are used as well. Taste, touch, smell, Sight, Hear
Observation is important to scientific inquiry because the scientific method references all theories to the real world. A theory without validation by observation cannot be a strong theory. Observational science provides the necessary validation instead of the theory just being pure speculation. It allows a connection to the real world and formulate what goes on in different situations.
I do believe that inferences have a place in science because they are used from observations and are a more educated guess than just having an opinion. I opinion even from a well-learned scientist can be completely false because they are not officially the domain of science. Science cannot directly address issues on whether people believe something or something else. I do not believe that opinions can truly have a place in science.
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