Celina G. answered • 03/20/20
Experienced Science Instructor
Lets look at scientific inquiry first...We can take a look at a scene/picture and can make a lot of different observations such as ‘there are 17 blue cars parked in the parking lot.’ All of these observations fit underneath two categories in quantitative- observations that use numbers qualitative-those that do not use numbers. If we think of another scene, for instance, a glass of juice spilled over on a table. We can say the table is mahogany and the juice is orange. However, now based on our observations we can make an inference which is your little brother knocked down the glass! If you take a look again as guess as to what has happened or what is happening, in this case, we can also make a prediction and using our observations or inferences to decide what will happen. In this case, we just made a prediction that your little brother will have to clean up the juice with soap, water, and a cloth.
The scientific method asks a question for instance simply, ‘what do plants need to grow?’ scientists use this method. It is a way to ask and answer questions by making observations, predictions and making experiments. Here are the steps: 1. Ask a question; 2. Make an Observation and research problem; 3. Form a hypothesis; 4. Design and Experiment and Test your hypothesis; 5. Analyze Data; 6. Draw a conclusion.
I would not say that one is better than the other. However, both are used to answer scientific questions! Please let me know if this is helpful or if I should elaborate more.
