Skills Lesson: Interpreting Observations Answers

Observational data is easier to analyze and interpret when it is organized into tables, charts, or graphs.

When making observations, you should provide a general description of the subject, rather than going into too much detail.

Katy works at a pet store, and is in charge of tracking the cat food supply for the morning, afternoon, and evening shifts. There are currently six cats at their store, and each cat had full food bowls during the morning and afternoon shifts, throughout the entire shift. Each day, the evening shift person replenished the food bowls at the end of their shift. What is the pattern Katy could note from this data?a.The cats tend to eat more in the morning.b.The cats tend to eat more in the afternoon.c.The cats tend to eat more in the evening.d.The cats tend to eat more during the night.

When observing a group of children at a daycare center, Emily made the following observations:Five year old children played in one location during independent play time. Three year old children moved between different activities, rather than staying in one location.By analyzing Emily’s observations, what could be a valid conclusion?a.Five-year-old children have longer attention spans than three-year-old children.b.Three year old children do not like being in daycare.c.Five-year-old children are favored over three-year-old children at the daycare center.d.Three-year-old children are favored over five-year-old children at the daycare center.

Collin is conducting a study about chimpanzee communication methods. Which of the following note excerpts from his recent trip to the zoo would be good to include in his study?a.Male chimpanzee sleeping in tree for an hourb.Baby chimpanzee playing in tree branches for an hourc.Female chimpanzee walks away when male chimpanzee approachesd.Male chimpanzee eats bananas rather than vegetables during feeding time