Final answer:
Qualitative observation describes characteristics without numerical measures, such as color or weather conditions, while quantitative observations include numbers, like temperature or number of items.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of observation that describes without using numbers or amounts is Qualitative observation. These observations are used to describe properties or occurrences in ways that do not depend on numerical measures. For instance, stating that "Gold metal is yellow" or that "The weather outside is snowy" are examples of qualitative descriptions. In contrast, observations that involve numbers, such as stating the number of sheets in a ream of paper or the temperature being 24 degrees Fahrenheit, are examples of quantitative descriptions. Quantitative data can be further categorized as either discrete or continuous; the number of times per week is an example of quantitative discrete data, while duration (amount of time) is classified as quantitative continuous data.