A statement is like telling someone something you think is true, while a fact is something that can be proven to be true.
Imagine you're playing with blocks. If you say, "This tower will not fall," that's a statement, it’s what you believe. But if the tower actually stays up after you push it gently, then your statement becomes a fact, because it happened in real life and can be checked.
What Makes Something a Fact?
Statements Can Change
A statement is like a guess or opinion, it can be right or wrong. If someone says, "I think this block is red," but it's actually blue, that statement isn’t a fact yet. But if you all look at the block and agree it’s blue, then your guess becomes a fact too!
So remember: statements are what people say, and facts are what happens, they can be checked and agreed on!
Examples
- A child says, 'The sky is green.' This is a statement, it might not be true yet.
- A teacher checks the weather and confirms that it's actually blue. Now the statement becomes a fact.
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See also
- What are inconsistencies?
- What are facts?
- What are premises and conclusions?
- What Is a Cogent Argument?
- How Does The Fallacy Fallacy | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios Work?