Science process skills involve logical thinking in investigations and can be basic or integrated. Basic skills include observing, comparing, classifying, quantifying, inferring, predicting, and communicating. Integrated skills involve experimenting, which includes hypothesizing, controlling variables, and organizing data. Basic skills are fundamental to science and allow scientists to discover relationships through comparison and classify objects based on similarities and differences.

1. Science Process Skills

2. Logical operations of thinking in investigations. They are either basic or integrated. Basic Process Skills : Observing, comparing, classifying, quantifying, inferring, predicting, communicating and manipulative skills. Integrated Process Skills: Embodied in experimenting which includes hypothesizing, controlling variables and classifying data .

3. The Basic Process Skills

4. 1. OBSERVING most basic and fundamental of the process skills. One cannot compare, classify or perform the other process skills without being a good observer. We observe objects or events through our five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Example: Describing a pencil as yellow

5. The Process of observing can be: Qualitative – this is identifying and naming the properties of an object such as its shape, color, size, texture, smell, and sound. Quantitative – This kind of observation involves measurement. Change – it could be the result of crushing, pounding, burning, cutting, decaying, etc.

6. 2. COMPARING Comparing is using observable properties in discovering similarities of and differences between objects and phenomena. Through comparison, we are able to identify relationships among objects and phenomena observed.

7. 3. CLASSIFYING There is an overwhelming number of things around us – nonliving and living things. Order can be attained by observing similarities, differences and interrelationships and by grouping them accordingly to suit some purpose. Example: Placing all rocks having certain grain size or hardness into one group.

8. 4. INFERRING While observing is getting information by using one or more senses, inferring is explaining or interpreting an observation. Example: Saying that the person who used a pencil made a lot of mistakes because the eraser was well worn.

9. 5. PREDICTING Predicting is the process of using past observations or data along with other kinds of scientific knowledge to forecast event or relationships. A statement not based on observation is not a prediction. It is simply a guess. Interpolation – is predicting new data based on and within a trend/ pattern of previously observed data. Extrapolation - is predicting new data outside or beyond the range of previously observed data.

10. 6. QUANTIFYING Quantifying is making and manipulating quantitative observations. This involves: 1. Using numbers 2. measuring 3. using time and space Example: Using a meter stick to measure the length of a table in centimeters.

11. 7. COMMUNICATING Expressing ideas in many forms, such as orally, in writing or with graphs, diagrams, tables of data or photographs is a way of communicating. Example: Describing the change in height of a plant over time in writing or through a graph.

12. 8. MANIPULATIVE SKILLS These skills involve using equipment and materials properly and accurately, preparing setups for investigation, and handling specimen carefully.