Ch. 1 The Nature of Science

What Is Science? The goal of science is to investigate and understand the natural world, to explain events in the natural world and to use those explanations to make useful predictions.

What Science IS and IS NOT… Why does it rain? Propose an explanation for why it rains without including scientific thinking.

Thinking Like a Scientist Observation Gathering information orderly senses Data Inference Logical interpretation based on prior knowledge or experience.

Explaining and Interpreting Evidence Hypothesis Proposed scientific explanation for a set of observations. Logical inference Prior knowledge Controlled experiments or gathering more data

Science as a Way of Knowing Ongoing process Skeptics, open-minded Science has limits

Lab Safety

Design Your Own Controlled Experiment Ask a question Develop a testable hypothesis Identify the independent, dependent and controlled variables Write your procedure Data tables, graphs Conclusions Methods of improvement

“Poof!” Spontaneous Generation- Life could arise from nonliving matter. Redi’s Experiment: Jars, Meat, and Maggots (oh my)

Variables A hypothesis should be tested by an experiment in which only one variable is changed at a time. All other variables should be kept unchanged. Manipulated variable (independent) x-axis Responding variable (dependent) y-axis

It’s JUST a theory WRONG!! In science, the word theory applies to a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations

Characteristics of Living Things Made of units called cells Reproduce Are based on the universal genetic code Grow and develop Obtain and use materials and energy Respond to their environment Maintain a stable internal environment (homeostasis) As a group, living things change over time

Levels of Organization Molecules Cells Groups of Cells Organism Population Community Ecosystem Biosphere

Metric System

Metric Prefixes