ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Science 5: Observations in Nature 17 Views
Share It!
Description:
The real first step in the scientific method is to open your eyes...but we figured we could skip forward to actually observing things. You're a smart bunch, you'll figure it out.
Transcript
- 00:05
[Dino and Coop singing]
- 00:14
If you've ever played I-Spy with a friend, then you've definitely experienced first-hand [Two kids in a forest]
- 00:18
the importance of having strong observational skills.
- 00:21
You've probably also experienced your friend being super-annoying for the sake of being annoying. [One kid smiling while the other looks annoyed]
- 00:26
Seriously, "I-spy something green," in a forest??
Full Transcript
- 00:30
Anyway, being a good observer isn't just an [Dino pointing at a blackboard]
- 00:33
essential part of a good game of I-Spy, it's actually an important part of being a scientist too.
- 00:38
Scientists have to learn to be good observers.
- 00:41
And not just to make sure things don't explode in their labs, though that is a plus. [Boy holding a flask that explodes]
- 00:45
The very first step in the scientific method is to make observations. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]
- 00:49
Also known as research, this step is all about looking around your area of focus and trying
- 00:55
to…well…observe!
- 00:57
This means looking for problems that need solving, questions that need answering, or
- 01:01
simply finding something that makes you feel extra-curious. [Problem, Question and Curiosity all appear over a boy's head]
- 01:04
Observations in nature are especially important. Why? Because nature can be pretty complicated.
- 01:10
Especially when it's asking you tricky multiplication questions…those oak trees always stump us. [Oak tree asking a boy to do multiplication]
- 01:15
Alright, let's take a look at this scene. Anyone can look at it and think, “So what?
- 01:20
It's just some dirt and leaves, big whoop.” [Girl looks unimpressed]
- 01:22
But a scientist with strong observational skills might look at it and think..
- 01:26
What animal left those tracks?
- 01:29
Why are there multiple kinds of soil in the same area?
- 01:32
What caused that tiny hole? Was it an insect? [Arrows pointing to different questions about the picture]
- 01:35
And that's just a few questions that someone could ask!
- 01:38
Now imagine if you were a scientist and you walked into this scene…
- 01:42
You would have more questions than you'd know what to do with. And in this case, that's [Scientist walks into a forest]
- 01:46
a good thing! But you don't need to go to the rainforest
- 01:49
to come up with a whole load of thought-provoking scientific observations. Even observations
- 01:53
in your school garden can reveal some amazing things – whether you're staring down at
- 01:57
the tiniest little insect or examining the complex and beautiful patterns on a freshly-fallen leaf. [Magnifying glass on a lady bird]
- 02:02
A keen observer is someone who is able to be curious about the world around them – no [Boy looking down a microscope]
- 02:06
matter where they look.
- 02:07
Though we'll be perfectly honest - you'll likely have a more interesting time examining
- 02:11
the insects in your garden than you would with the lint found in your belly button. [Belly button lint under the microscope]
Up Next
Check out the best bias video ever made, courtesy of the most awesome and amazing educational website in existence.
Related Videos
No, this isn't a terrible new mint-peach bubble gum flavor...though it does tend to leave a bad taste in people's mouths.
Those settlers in Jamestown really should have settled down with all that land-stealing. Tobacco's bad for you anyway.
Being born out of multiple wars doesn't quite seem to fit the peaceful, polite Canadians we know and love today...oh wait, they were called The Bea...
Not every cartoon is meant to entertain small children while their mother gets some "Mommy time." There are also political cartoons, which are mean...