Which best describes the difference between an observation and an inference?

Question 1 options:

You can record an observation; an inference is an idea.

You make an inference before you make observations.

An observation is a conclusion; an inference is a hypothesis.

An observation is based on evidence, an inference is not.

Answer: Option A (You can record an observation; an inference is an idea based on the observations)

Explanation:

The observation is something that we derive from the experiment that we perform. Example: An experiment is performed to test whether there is a positive effect of sunlight on the growth of plants or not.

Some plants were kept in sunlight and some of them were kept in dark. It was observed that the plants grow more in the presence of sunlight.

This is the observation and sunlight has a positive effect on the growth of the plants is the inference that is given based on the idea of the observation.

An observation is something that you see and now the fact about it and an inference is a conclusion you get by the context of anything