WHAT IS SCIENCE? Science is a continuous stream of ideas that are constantly being reshaped, added to, subtracted from and built upon

 Science is a continually changing field that began as early as 40,000 B.C.  Science is always evolving  Science is and has always been about predictability WHAT IS SCIENCE

 Anyone can think like a Scientist, if you can…  Be curious – look around and ask questions about things  Be skeptical – don’t always believe the first thing you hear  Be flexible – even after you’ve found one explanation, keep looking These three things add up to what is called Critical Thinking WHAT IS SCIENCE

 STEP ONE  Observation – careful watching of something around us, in the environment, in animals or in ourselves, in an objective way using standard units and equipment so that someone else using the same units or equipment could measure the same things and get the same results SCIENTIFIC METHOD

 STEP TWO  Hypothesis – an educated guess explaining what you are observing or how to change what you are observing  If you observed that a house plant grew faster after you gave it some plant food, your hypothesis could be “Plant food stimulates house plants to grow” SCIENTIFIC METHOD

 STEP THREE  Experiment – involves testing your hypothesis by designing and carrying out an experiment  Requires using experimental and control groups  Involves determining what measurements, or data, you will take to compare the two groups  Measurements should be repeatable by someone else as well as relevant as a predictor SCIENTIFIC METHOD

 STEP FOUR  Conclusion – judgment made on the basis of your experiment as to whether your hypothesis is right or wrong  Can fall into two categories:  Correlation – two things that tend to happen together  Cause-Effect – one thing or event actually causes the other to happen SCIENTIFIC METHOD

 Throughout evolution, it has always benefited animals to be able to predict things around them  If a deer smells a wolf, it can predict danger and run the other way  If a squirrel feels the temperature drop, it can predict winter is coming and prepare to hibernate WHY BOTHER?

 Science is just a way of making predictions  Taking medicine X will clear up symptom Z  Wearing a seat belt will prevent you from flying through the window in a car accident  Depletion of the earth’s ozone layer may increase the risk of skin cancer Predictions like these allow us to make decisions about the future. SCIENCE/PREDICTIONS