What is evidence?

Evidence is clues that help us know something is true, just like a detective uses clues to solve a mystery.

Imagine you're playing hide-and-seek with your friends, and when you count to ten, you hear a thump from behind the couch. That thump is evidence, it helps you guess that one of your friends might be hiding there!

Evidence can be almost anything:

• A footprint in the mud, like when your dog walks by and leaves wet prints on the floor
• A note someone left, like a message tucked under your door saying "I'm sorry"
• A smell, like your brother's favorite snack, which you can tell is in the kitchen

When we have evidence, it helps us make good guesses. If you hear thumps and smell your brother’s snack, you might say:

"I think my brother is hiding behind the couch!"

Evidence isn’t magic, it's just clues that help us figure out what's going on, like in a fun game of detective! Evidence is clues that help us know something is true, just like a detective uses clues to solve a mystery.

Imagine you're playing hide-and-seek with your friends, and when you count to ten, you hear a thump from behind the couch. That thump is evidence, it helps you guess that one of your friends might be hiding there!

Evidence can be almost anything:

• A footprint in the mud, like when your dog walks by and leaves wet prints on the floor
• A note someone left, like a message tucked under your door saying "I'm sorry"
• A smell, like your brother's favorite snack, which you can tell is in the kitchen