250 likes | 354 Views
SC300-07 Big Ideas in Science. James Stevens MS RD Adjunct Faculty Department of Science School of General Education. Unit 2 Seminar: Uncertainty & The Black Hole 1/11/12. Notable Quote. “Black holes are where God divided by zero.” Steven Wright US comedian and actor. Today’s Topics.
E N D
SC300-07 Big Ideas in Science James Stevens MS RD Adjunct Faculty Department of Science School of General Education Unit 2 Seminar: Uncertainty & The Black Hole 1/11/12
Notable Quote “Black holes are where God divided by zero.” Steven Wright US comedian and actor
Today’s Topics • Uncertainty in Science • The mystery and science of black holes
Uncertainty • What examples of uncertainty exist in your daily life?
Uncertainty • What examples of uncertainty exist in your daily life? • How do you “reconcile” that uncertainty?
Uncertainty • What examples of uncertainty exist in your daily life? • How do you “reconcile” that uncertainty? • What uncertainties have you observed in the scientific world?
Evaluating uncertainty • The 95% confidence interval describes how repeated measurements fall closer to the average (mean)
Black Holes What is the biggest obstacle to proving that black holes really do exist?
Black Holes What kinds of evidence are there that they do?
M47: X-Ray Signal PresenceElusive intermediate mass black hole
Black Holes Given what you know about scientific inquiry, why is the lack of direct evidence for black holes a problem for scientists?