One job of a scientist is to make observations.
Observations are statements that a scientist
makes about an object. Scientists make
observations using their senses. The five senses
are sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.
You can make observations, too.
Imagine that you are given a daisy, like the
one shown here. What observations can
you make about the daisy? You can use
your eyes to see that it has white petals
around a yellow center. You can see that it
does not move on its own. You can use your
nose to smell it. You can touch it with your
fingers to feel its soft texture.
Observations about daisies help scientists
group them with similar living things.
Scientists classify, or group, daisies as plants.
Daisies have features in common with other
plants. They do not move, and they do not eat
food.
Sometimes an object or organism is too small
for a scientist to see easily. This makes it hard
for the scientist to make observations.
Scientists use tools to help them observe things
that are very small. One of these tools is a
magnifying glass, or hand lens. A magnifying
glass makes small things look bigger. You can
use a magnifying glass to look at a small insect.
It will help you see the small features of the
insect better. A magnifying glass can help you
see the details of an insect's eyes, wings, and
legs.
Making Observations
Another tool scientists use to observe small
things is a microscope. A microscope magnifies
images. This means that it makes objects look
many times bigger than they actually are.
You can see things with a microscope that you
cannot see with just your eyes. For example,
you can see cells of an organism using a
microscope. If you looked at part of a daisy
stem under a microscope, you could see cells.
You could also see small parts of these cells,
such as cell walls. Cell walls in daisies help
scientists group these living things as plants.