Observations

Qualitative – describe with words

–Hot , red, large
Quantitative – describe with numbers
–100° , 10 meters, 3.46 grams
Scientistsprefer quantitative
Easy to agree upon
No personal bias
Models
 A representation of some object
or event
 Made to better understand it
 Often used if real thing is too big,
small or complex.
 Come in a variety of forms
– Physical models
– Diagrams
– Computer models
Measurement and
Observation
 Scientists use measurements to
record observations.
 Scientists use models to explain
observations.
 Scientists use graphs to explain
observations.
Graphing
Section 1.3
Why use graphs?
 Graph- used to make data easier
to read and understand- shows
patterns and trends
What is a graph?
 Visual display of information or
data
 X-axis- horizontal- independent
variable
 Y-axis- vertical- dependent
variable
 Must have labels for each axis, a
title, and units if appropriate
 You must select the proper scale.
 Don’t make the scale too large or
too small
Examples of Proper Scale
and Improper Scale
Distance Traveled in One Day
450
Distance Traveled in One Day
400 450
350 400
350 740
300
300 640
(miles)(miles)

250
250
540
200 200
DistanceDistance

440
150 150
340
100 100
50 240
50
0 140
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 402 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (hours)
-5 -60 0 5 Time
10 15 20 25
Time (hours)
Graphs
 Give a visual representation of da
ta 
 Summarizes data.
 Two types of variables 
– Independent variable the thing
you have control over
– Dependent variable the thing
that you don’t have control
over.
 Three types of graphs line, bar,
and circle
Circle Graphs
33%
 Often called a pie42%
chart
 divided into parts
 easy to compare
to whole amount. 25%
 Use several to
show changes Buildings
over time Transportation
Industrial
 Bar Graphs12
10
 Bar Graphs-
8
wide columns
used things like 6

weight, height , 4

and length. 2

 Compare 0
Production of Energy per
quantities gram

Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
 Line Graphs
 Line Graphs- compares sets of
data, show change and patterns
35 over time.
30
25
20 New York
15 San Diego
10 Salina Cruz
5
0
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Graphs include
 A title
 Labeled axes
 A consistent scale.