BMT I What is Science?

Science….. … is the continuous stream of ideas that are constantly being reshaped, added to, subtracted from and built upon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de8OzOmUD7c&feature=youtu.be

What Science is NOT?? Giant Jigsaw Puzzle Always Evolving! In a giant Jigsaw puzzle, once you get a piece of the puzzle to fit, it stays there FOREVER. NOT Science… Today, we laugh at things that 500 years ago were considered true More like a lump of Play-doh than a puzzle What does evolving mean???

Think-Pair-Share Write down 4 things that people believed a long time ago and that today’s people no longer believe… Now, compare your list with your partners. Make note of the differences. Maybe, they thought of something that you didn’t know. * Great “Truths” Handout

Predictability: Science of today gives us the ability to predict certain things about the world around us. Examples: What time will it get dark? What happens if I mix flour, sugar, eggs and milk together and bake it? Science allows us to Predict what will happen…

What are some predictions that you can make?

How to think like a SCIENTIST… Exercise your brain in a few simple ways Some questions will give you more clues than others Be curious! Look around and ask questions Why is the sky blue? Why does the sun set? How do I get energy from the sun? Be skeptical! Don’t always believe the first thing you hear Look for more than one possible explanations See which FACTS support which explanations and choose the best one Do you believe in Bigfoot, UFO’s?

Thinking like a Scientist… Be Flexible! Even after you find one answer or explanation- KEEP LOOKING! Sometimes you find a better one Don’t be afraid to give up old ideas for new ones *As long as they pass the skepticism test… Use Critical Thinking Skills! Not a guarantee of the truth Scientist can and have been fooled by clever hoaxes …or spend years believing wrong information *until new, better information presents itself.

How to act like a Scientist… USE the same logical four-step approach that scientist do: Observation Hypothesis Experiment Conclusion How to act like a Scientist…

Scientific Method – First Step Observation: careful watching of something around us In our environment In animals Or in ourselves *General Rule of Observations*: ↓ The more quantifiable (measurable in objective units) the more valuable a predictor is

How observant are you? Without looking down, what color socks are you wearing today? Without folding your arms, which arm would be on put on top? Without clasping your hands in front of you, which thumb would be on top? Which direction does Lincoln face on a penny?

How observant are you? How many sides does a pencil have? What color is the top light on a traffic light? How many sides does a stop sign have? In the kitchen or bathroom sink, on which side of the faucet is the hot water knob?

Choose which statement in more quantifiable: “It sometimes rains when the barometer reads 29.3 mm of mercury” Or “It sometimes rains when my knee hurts”

Think-Pair-Write Write 2 quantifiable statements and write 2 statements that are not quantifiable. Share with your group….check to see if your partner has true quantifiable statements

Scientific Method – Second Step Hypothesis: an educated guess explaining what you are observing Example: If you observed a plant growing faster after you gave it plant food, your hypothesis would be: “Plant food stimulates house plants to grow” Come up with your own hypothesis…

Scientific Method – Third Step Experiment: This involves testing your hypothesis Design and carry out an experiment to test your theory Example: To test the hypothesis about the plant food you would Gather identical plants of the same species and size growing in the same pots and soil. Divide the plants into two groups Experimental group and Control group

Plant experiment continued… The experimental group of plants receives the food The control group of plants do NOT receive the food. All other variables such as the amount of sunlight and water are the same for both groups. The temperature of the room must be the same for both groups. *If you change more than one Variable, you will not be able to make any conclusions about any effect of the plant food.*

Plant Experiment Design and Measurements Part of the design of an experiment Determining what measurements or data you will compare between the experimental and control groups All measurements should be repeatable Examples of measurements: Measure plant height Number of leaves Color of leaves If the plant blooms (becomes a flower)

Experiment Design Continued… Relevant: Meaningful or purposeful. Would two individuals count the leaves on the plant and arrive at the same number? BUT Could they both objectively measure the color of the leaf? Questions? Would leaf color be relevant predictor of the experiment? Would leaf size be considered a relevant predictor if the plants you are using have a wide variety of leaf size?

Data Collection Baseline: Scientist would take measurements before beginning the experiment. Collect data at regular intervals over a period of time Average the data together for a period of time Examine the those averages to look for a trend Statistics: The practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities. *This is used by scientist to calculate whether the difference between the two groups were significant.

Scientific Method – Fourth Step Conclusion: Judgement made on the basis of your experiment as to whether your hypothesis is right or wrong Two categories: Correlation And Cause-Effect Correlation – Two things that tend to happen together Cause-Effect – One thing or event actually causes the other to happen

Correlation or Cause-Effect Every time I go ice skating a) I get cold b) I bruise my bottom Every time I go ice skating a) I fall down and b) I bruise my bottom *Correlation can be established through observation…you just need to notice two events always happening together *Cause-Effect is tougher to establish

TEST - a critical examination, observation, or evaluation  Once you notice two things happen together you need to test the link * Cause-effect is a better predictor than correlation

Why Bother? Animals have always benefited by being able to predict things around them. If a deer smells a wolf, it can predict danger and run the other way If a ground squirrel feels the temperature drop, it can predict winter is coming and prepare to hibernate Humans predict too. There are warning signs in our lives that predict tax raises, spoiled food, etc., and we alter our behaviors based on the predictions we make

Science is just a way of making predictions

What is a Scientist? Write a list of adjectives or nouns that come to mind… Draw a picture of what this scientist might look like

Can women be scientist? Can black or Hispanic people be scientist? Do some scientist have children? Do some scientist have pets, go on vacation, watch TV or go to the movies? Do scientist always work indoors? Do scientist always work during the daytime?

Who Weaves the Fabric of Science? Activity Make a concept map and begin by put the subject in the center. Brainstorm on topics and terms to be included Determine the kinds of observations and research that will need to be done Present to the class 5. Compare to the other concept maps made by the other groups 6. Discuss more than one way to synthesize a concept map Use all the maps to make a class concept map Under each term, write the observations/research necessary

Concept Map: What “knowledge” came before and what “knowledge” do we have now….