Step 1: Science builds reliable knowledge by using a set of basic working methods, not just single steps in a fixed order.
Step 2: Observation means noticing and recording what happens around us, and experimentation means setting up controlled trials to test an idea.
Step 3: Alongside these two, science relies on measurement, which is the collection of precise numerical data using instruments. Measurement is what turns a rough observation into exact, comparable, and repeatable data, and it is used constantly during both observation and experimentation.
Step 4: A hypothesis is a proposed explanation that still needs to be tested, so it is a product of the scientific method rather than a method itself. Deduction and inference are types of logical reasoning applied to data that has already been gathered, not separate hands-on methods of doing science.
Answer: Measurement, option B.