what is the differnce between a qualitive and quantitative observation?

Question

in my experiment we are rolling a steel ball on a ramp. first we roll 1/4 of the ramp then 1/2, 3/4 and the whole ramp. we then record how fast it was for each measurement. is it qualitive, quantitavive or both??

Answer 1

Qualitative = the quality of
Quantitative = the amount or quantity of

Example:
A quantitative analysis will tell you how much gas can be produced when refining oil. It can even tell you the amount of each gas produced, but you will need a qualitative analysis to determine if those products are useful and how.

Ideally you will perform BOTH types of analysis, but the instruments that you need to do that will differ. For example a scale can tell you the quantity of a substance. A chemical analysis like a pH test can tell you the quality of a substance.

According to: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/qualitative
Qualitive is:
"qualitative (comparative more qualitative, superlative most qualitative)

1. of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quantity
2. (chemistry) of a form of analysis that yields the identity of a compound"

According to: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Quantitative
"quantitative

1. of a measurement based on some quantity or number rather than on some quality
2. (chemistry) of a form of analysis that determines the amount of some element or compound in a sample ."

Answer 2

Basically a quantitative observation involves taking some sort of measurement (ex. temperature, time, length, etc.). A qualitative measurement isn't based on measurement (ex. color, smell, etc.). Hope that helps.

Answer 3

A quantitative observation involves making a measurement, while a qualitative observation does not.

Qual. observation: "That light bulb emits blue light."
Quan. observation: "That light bulb emits light at 475 nm, according to this spectroscope."

Answer 4

Qualitative describes the something by the way it looks. eg. color.
Quantitative describes something using numbers. eg. height, weight.

Answer 5

qualitative: the sample was hot
quantitative: the sample was 198.6 deg F

in the second I "quantified" the "quality" of hotness.