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Understanding Science: The Method, Theory, and Communication

This chapter delves into the essence of science, covering the scientific method, theories, laws, measurement standards, and communicating data through graphs. It discusses the branches of science and the systematic approach scientists use to gather knowledge about the natural world. It emphasizes the importance of observation, experimentation, and analysis in scientific inquiry. The chapter also explores career prospects in various scientific fields.

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Understanding Science: The Method, Theory, and Communication

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  1. Chapter 1 The Nature of Science

  2. I. What is Science? • Science comes from the Latin word scientia, which means “knowledge” 1. Science- process that uses observation and investigation to gain knowledge about events in nature. • Three branches of Science 1. Life Science • Deals with living things

  3. 2. Earth Science • Investigates earth and space 3. Physical Science • Deals with matter and energy • How do scientists learn about the natural world? • Performing investigations • Observation • Experiments • models

  4. II. Scientific Method- Organized set of investigation procedures • Six step method • State the problem • Gather information • Form a hypothesis • Test the hypothesis • Analyze data • Draw conclusions • Support/Doesn’t support Hypothesis • If hypothesis is supported, repeat steps 4-6 several times • If hypothesis is not supported, go back to step 3 and form a new hypothesis

  5. 1. Stating the problem • The problem is a question of “WHY?” or “WHAT?” • Example- What materials can be used to create a space shuttle that will with stand the harsh conditions of space?

  6. 2. Researching and Gathering Information • Gather information that will help solve the problem • Example- melting points of different materials that could be used to build a space shuttle

  7. 3. Form A Hypothesis • Hypothesis- A possible explanation for a problem using what you know and what you observe • In the form of an IF/THEN statement • Example- If a ceramic material is used then the space shuttle will be able to withstand the high temperatures.

  8. 4. Test a Hypothesis • Can be done by performing an experiment, making observations or building a model • An experiment uses two variables, a dependant and an independent variable • Variable- quantity that can have more than a single value • Dependant variable- value changes according to changes in other variables • Independent Variable- Is independent of other variables

  9. Example 1- what factors might cause a plant to grow? • Independent variable- growth • Dependent variable- water, sunlight, soil • Example 2- The higher the temperature of water, the faster an egg will boil • Independent variable- water temp • Dependent variable- speed/ time

  10. Example 3- An investigation was done with an electromagnetic system made from a battery and wired wrapped around a nail. Different sizes of nails were used. The number of paperclips the electromagnet could pick up was measured. • Independent variable- nail size • Dependent variable- how many paperclips were picked up

  11. Experiments also have CONSTANTS and CONTROLS • Constant- A factor that does not change when other variables do • Controls- Standard by which the test results can be compared. • Example- Have 4 plants with the same soil and amount of fertilizer. Three of the plants get different types of fertilizer and the fourth gets none. • Constant- soil and sunlight • Control- plant that does not receive fertilizer

  12. 5. Analyzing Data • This is done by recording observations making charts and graphs

  13. 6. Drawing Conclusions • Based on data analysis, is your hypothesis supported or not? • You must be objective • Bias- When the scientists expectations changes how the results are viewed

  14. Scientific Theories and Laws • Theory- explanation of things or events based on knowledge gained from many observations and investigations • Scientific Law- A statements about what happens in nature and seems to be true all the time.

  15. Standards of Measurement Chapter 1 Section 2

  16. Units and Standards • Standard- an exact quantity that people agree to use for comparison • Examples- ??? • International System of Units • SI standard- universally excepted units of measurement used by scientists • Measured in the Power of 10

  17. Different Measurements • Mass- amount of matter in an object • Measured in grams • Volume- The amount of space occupied by an object • Measured in liters or grams • Volume = length X width X height • Length- distance between two points • Measured in meters

  18. SI Units

  19. SI prefixes L R

  20. Conversion examples!

  21. Communicating with Graphs Chapter 1 Section 3

  22. Graphs • Graph- visual display of information or data • X-axis- horizontal axis • Independent variable • Y-axis- vertical axis • Dependant variable • Three types of graphs • Line • Bar • pie Y-axis dep. variable X-axis ind. variable

  23. Line Graphs • Often used to show change over time

  24. Bar Graphs • Used for comparing information collected by counting

  25. Pie Charts • Used to show how a fixed quantity is broken down into parts • Usually represented in percents

  26. Career Choices

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