Final answer:
The main difference between an observation and an inference is that an observation is a direct record of what is sensed or measured, while an inference is a conclusion drawn from these observations combined with logic and prior knowledge.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between an observation and an inference can best be described as follows: An observation is a direct record of what is perceived through the senses or instruments, allowing you to capture what happens in the environment. For instance, you observe that leaves are falling from the trees. An inference, on the other hand, is an idea or a conclusion that is derived from the observations by applying logic and previous knowledge. If you infer that because leaves are falling from the trees it must be autumn, you are making an inference based on the observation of the falling leaves and what you know about seasonal changes.
It is important to understand that an observation is something you can directly record and is based on evidence, whereas an inference is not directly observable and is a logical conclusion drawn from the observations. For example, in the case of a controlled experiment, you make observations to gather data and then you may make inferences from this data to propose a hypothesis.