Lecture 1: What is Science? Physics – Mr. Rooney Lecture 1: What is Science? Questions: List the three things that make up science. List the steps of the scientific method. What characteristic does each step have? Which step is essential for something to be considered science. What distinguishes the different types of knowledge science generates? Can a fact become a theory? Can a theory become a fact?

Science is… A method of answering questions and finding truth. A body of knowledge known with different degrees of certainty Philosophy of reality which includes the ideas of cause and effect and what I observe is what there is.

The Method Question Hypothesis Experiment Results Conclusion Example Why is usually not a scientific question. Hypothesis is educated guess which is testable Experiment is preferably repeatable Experiment is essential part of this method, this is what makes something science Quantitative results are preferred over quanlitative (Numbers don’t lie) Conclusion refers back to original hypothesis Repeat if necessary Flat Bicycle tire

Body of Knowledge Type Definition % Certainty fact Observation 100% Formula or relationship Mathematical observation Hypothesis Educated guess 1-95% Theory Explanation of validated hypotheses and facts 95-99% Theory is very strong statement Theory of plate tectonics Big Bang theory Theory of Universal Gravitation Copernican Theory of planetary motion Theory of Evolution Can increase in certainty but cannot decrease in certainty Extra ordinary claims require extra ordinary proof (possible is not probable) UFO claims (Crop circles) Body of knowledge is peer reviewed with skeptical eye thus ensuring at least some self correction.

Philosophy of Reality Cause and effect What I observe is what there is. Assumes we are not being fooled Other philosophies Which is best? For every effect there is a cause and this cause is knowable Assumes we are smart enough to find causes Ultimate cause argument Jazz musician=what I feel is what there is US legal system=all men are created equal and should be treated as such under the law

Science is… A method of answering questions and finding truth. A body of knowledge known with different degrees of certainty Philosophy of reality which includes the ideas of cause and effect and what I observe is what there is.