Question

What is the difference between an observation and an inference? Give examples.

Answer 1

Answer:

Define observation and an inference:

An observation is something you sense: taste, touch, smell, see, or hear.

An inference is something you decide or think about a thing or event after you observe it.

The Difference

An observation is something you observe. Something you or others sense. While an inference is something you infer about someone, something, or even a situation. The difference is when you experiment something, you make a hypothesis, or in this case, an inference. An inference about what you think will happen (guess/theory). The next step is to observe the object or what you're focusing on. Therefore, the two are not one and the same, but very different.

Explanation:

Observation (examples):

The watching of Haley's Comet. Or making the statement that a teacher is proficient from watching him teach several times.

Inference (examples):

If you someone eating new food and he or she makes a face, then you infer he does not like it. Or if someone slams a door, you can infer that she is upset about something.