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Gregor Johann Mendel

Gregor Johann Mendel. Studied peas in his monastry garden Kept careful records of all procedures and findings “controlled” pollination between plants with contrasting traits “generalized” the results of breeding pea plants, into what we now know as the Mendel’s LAWS of Inheritance.

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Gregor Johann Mendel

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  1. Gregor Johann Mendel • Studied peas in his monastry garden • Kept careful records of all procedures and findings • “controlled” pollination between plants with contrasting traits • “generalized” the results of breeding pea plants, into what we now know as the Mendel’s LAWS of Inheritance

  2. Albert Einstein • Worked as a clerk in a patent office • Did many “thought experiments” • Developed the 2 THEORIES of Relativity

  3. Alfred Lothar Wegener • Read a paper listing fossils of identical plants and animals across the opposite sides of the atlantic ocean • Noticed the similarities between the eastern coastline of south america and western coastline of africa • Proposed the THEORY of Continental Drift, which came to be supported by several observations and findings we now collectively know as Plate Tectonics.

  4. James Watson/Francis Crick • Carefully considered all the information generated by others about the DNA molecule • Did not conduct their own experiments related to DNA sturcture • “played” with cardboard pieces and wires, incorporating all the information available at the time, to develop a MODEL of DNA structure that looks like

  5. Charles Darwin • Made lots of OBSERVATIONS of live plants and animals and fossils in South America and Galapagos Islands • Kept detailed and careful records of these observations and findings. Collected lots of specimens for further study • Applied ideas presented by other people such as Charles Lyell, Thomas Malthus, etc. • Applied ideas from other realms of life, such as selective breeding by farmers • Developed the THEORY of Biological Evolution

  6. Which of these guys did SCIENCE? What is the basis of your answer?

  7. The issue of the Scientific Method • The textbook variety of scientific method A specific set of steps progressing in a linear manner and implied as universal to all scientific activity. • Real-life variety of scientific method Complex, rich, and varied approaches, procedures, and strategies employed in a non-linear manner; influenced by the idiosyncracies of the practicing scientist; but share certain common characteristics.

  8. Common Characteristics of Scientific Method • Logical Reasoning • Careful observations • Accurate data collection • Drawing of inferences based on observations/data • Sharp scrutiny of reported evidence, results, or inferences

  9. Common Characteristics of Science • Verifiable OBSERVATIONS/MEASUREMENTS • Repeatable EXPERIMENTS • Testable HYPOTHESIS and THEORIES (through prediction, observation, measurement, and experiment)

  10. Empirical Evidence: What are the possible types? • Observational • Experimental • Historical

  11. The body of Scientific Knowledge: What are its main characteristics? • Demands and relies on empirical evidence. • Is tentative but durable. • Laws and theories are related but distinct. One does not mature into the other. • Involves high levels of creativity. • Does contain a subjective element. • Is influenced by the social, political, cultural, and religious milieu of the geographical and temporal setting in which it is practiced. • Does not and cannot answer all possible questions. • Does not seek to provide absolute proof or absolute truth.

  12. What kind of questions does natural science address, explore and seek to answer? • Questions related to Physical Properties • Questions related to Physical Behavior • Questions related to Formative History In other words: Questions related to the Inherent Intelligibility of the physical universe.

  13. The body of Scientific Knowledge: What are its main components? • Scientific Theories Explanations Predictions Based on and supported by massive evidence Subject to change in the light of new evidence • Scientific Laws Generalized statements describing observed patterns and relationships in the physical world • Scientific Models Physical representations of abstract concepts, theoretical entities, or inaccessible components of the physical world

  14. Nature of Evolution • Scientific Fact: When considered as change through time. • Scientific Hypothesis: When considered as inference based on specific evidence. (eg. Common ancestry) • Scientific Theory: When considered as an explanation of observed biological phenomena (eg. Changes in populations over time explained by natural selection)

  15. And, Finally EOGs notwithstanding, our time in science will enable us to see it as an open-ended, on-going, dynamic, self-revising pursuit of a better understanding of the natural world!

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