Evidence Versus Opinion

Lab Brief #7

🎯 Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

Evidence is a measurement or observation anyone could repeat. An opinion is a preference. Both are legitimate, but only evidence settles a scientific question, and mixing the two is the commonest fault in a written conclusion.

Key words

evidence
A measurement or observation others could repeat and check.
conclusion
A statement about what the evidence shows, and nothing more.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "evidence" and "conclusion" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Take six statements about a local pond and sort them into evidence and opinion. For each opinion, write the measurement that would turn it into evidence.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

Which is evidence rather than opinion?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

A conclusion should state:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Counting What You Cannot Count All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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Evidence Versus Opinion

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