Page 9 - 新思维科学学生用书6 样章

Working like a scientist

Identifying and classifying

Identifying is the process of naming
something, for example the different types igneous rocks

of blood vessels in the human body. We can can you see the crystals
name them because they have features we with the naked eye?

recognise, such as the thickness of the blood

vessel wall. We classify objects, materials yes no
and living things in groups by observing the

ways in which they are different. We can rock is an intrusive rock is an
igneous rock, e.g
igneous rock, e.g
usually classify these things by asking a basalt
series of ‘yes or no’ questions. For example,

we can use a key to find out the type of

igneous rock in a sample we have found.

Pattern seeking

Pattern seeking involves observing, recording and analysing data. The patterns we

observe can help us to identify a trend or relationship between two or more things. We

often find patterns in nature where we cannot easily control the variables. For example:

• a pattern linking mass of an object with its weight
• a pattern between the time a planet takes to travel around the Sun and its distance

from the Sun.

Mercury
Saturn Venus

Neptune Mars Uranus
Earth Jupiter

Asteroid belt

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