4-1.2 Use appropriate instruments and tools (including a compass, a telescope, mirrors, and a prism) safely and accurately when conducting simple investigations.
Using Science Tools
Essential Question: What are the differences in the tools used in simple investigations?
Using Tools to Make Observations
Scientists use tools to gather data, or pieces of information, about things in the natural world. Data include both qualitative and quantitative observations. Scientists use different tools to gather different kinds of data. In your study of science, you must choose the correct tool for the kind of data you need. You must also use each tool correctly and safely.
Tools for Qualitative Observations
You may need to look at something very closely, such as an insect or a plant part. A hand lens can help you do this. A hand lens is an observation tool that makes objects look larger. It can help you see details, such as the pattern on a butterfly’s wing. A hand lens magnifies an object. To magnify means to make something look larger than it is.
You may need an even closer look. Let’s say you want to study the tiny living things in a drop of pond water. You will need to use a microscope. A microscope is a tool that makes tiny objects appears much larger. Microscopes can magnify objects hundreds or even thousands of times.
You may want to observe a faraway object, such as a bird in a tree. You can use binoculars, which make faraway things look closer. You can use binoculars to observe the moon and some planets. But if you want an even closer look, you need to use a telescope. A telescope makes objects that are very far away look many times closer than they really are.
Many microscopes and telescopes contain mirrors. A mirror is a very smooth surface that reflects light, or causes it to bounce back. A mirror forms an image that you can see. Most mirrors are sheets of glass with a silver coating on the back.
A prism is a clear object that splits light into all the colors of the rainbow. Most prisms are made of clear glass or plastic. They have flat, polished sides. You must hold a prism correctly in order for the prism to work. Light has to enter the prism at the correct angle.
Tools for Quantitative Observations
Scientists use many different tools to make measurements.
Length is the distance between two points. Temperature is a measure of how warm something is. Volume is the amount of space something takes up. Mass is the amount of matter is an object.
Remember that a measurement always includes a number and a unit of measurement. Units of length are meters, centimeters, and millimeters. A meterstick is a ruler that is one meter long. Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit. Liters and milliliters are units of volume. Grams and milligrams are units of mass.
A compass is a tool for finding direction. Direction is the path that a moving object follows. You can describe direction using the terms north, south, east, or west.
The needle of a compass always points north. Hold the compass in front of you. Then turn your body until the needle lines up with the letter N on the compass. You will be facing north. The letters E, S, and W will show you the directions east, south, and west. Your teacher will show you more details about how to use a compass.
A compass needle points toward a part of Earth near the North Pole. This area acts like one end of a magnet. Do not place a magnet near a compass. If you do, the needle may not point north.
Essential Question: What are the differences in the tools used in simple investigations?
Using Tools to Make Observations
Scientists use tools to gather data, or pieces of information, about things in the natural world. Data include both qualitative and quantitative observations. Scientists use different tools to gather different kinds of data. In your study of science, you must choose the correct tool for the kind of data you need. You must also use each tool correctly and safely.
Tools for Qualitative Observations
You may need to look at something very closely, such as an insect or a plant part. A hand lens can help you do this. A hand lens is an observation tool that makes objects look larger. It can help you see details, such as the pattern on a butterfly’s wing. A hand lens magnifies an object. To magnify means to make something look larger than it is.
You may need an even closer look. Let’s say you want to study the tiny living things in a drop of pond water. You will need to use a microscope. A microscope is a tool that makes tiny objects appears much larger. Microscopes can magnify objects hundreds or even thousands of times.
You may want to observe a faraway object, such as a bird in a tree. You can use binoculars, which make faraway things look closer. You can use binoculars to observe the moon and some planets. But if you want an even closer look, you need to use a telescope. A telescope makes objects that are very far away look many times closer than they really are.
Many microscopes and telescopes contain mirrors. A mirror is a very smooth surface that reflects light, or causes it to bounce back. A mirror forms an image that you can see. Most mirrors are sheets of glass with a silver coating on the back.
A prism is a clear object that splits light into all the colors of the rainbow. Most prisms are made of clear glass or plastic. They have flat, polished sides. You must hold a prism correctly in order for the prism to work. Light has to enter the prism at the correct angle.
Tools for Quantitative Observations
Scientists use many different tools to make measurements.
Length is the distance between two points. Temperature is a measure of how warm something is. Volume is the amount of space something takes up. Mass is the amount of matter is an object.
Remember that a measurement always includes a number and a unit of measurement. Units of length are meters, centimeters, and millimeters. A meterstick is a ruler that is one meter long. Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit. Liters and milliliters are units of volume. Grams and milligrams are units of mass.
A compass is a tool for finding direction. Direction is the path that a moving object follows. You can describe direction using the terms north, south, east, or west.
The needle of a compass always points north. Hold the compass in front of you. Then turn your body until the needle lines up with the letter N on the compass. You will be facing north. The letters E, S, and W will show you the directions east, south, and west. Your teacher will show you more details about how to use a compass.
A compass needle points toward a part of Earth near the North Pole. This area acts like one end of a magnet. Do not place a magnet near a compass. If you do, the needle may not point north.