Welcome to FCSC-101 "The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them." --- William Lawrence Bragg NEW CORE CURRICULUM: FOUNDATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS

1. Use theories and models as unifying principles that help us understand natural phenomena and make predictions. 2. Use graphical and numerical methods to analyze, organize, and interpret natural phenomena. 3. Formulate hypotheses, identify relevant variables, and design hypothetical experiments to test hypotheses. 4. Recognize the difference between a cause-and-effect relationship and a correlation, and apply that knowledge to data analysis. Course Learning Objectives

5. Formulate and ask relevant questions about course material. 6. Illustrate the interdependencies among science, including basic and applied research, technology, ethics, and society. 7. Evaluate the credibility of sources and information. 8. Communicate clearly in writing, speaking, and through the visual display of data. 9. Collaborate effectively as a member of a team. Course Learning Objectives (cont)

How You Will be Assessed Weekly Pre Class Quiz (based on Readings) Weekly Homework Assignments Short answer questions Multiple choice questions Data analysis assignments, and/or Posing questions 20% Science in the News (3 short writing assignments: 5% each) 15% Class Participation 5% Group Research Project (group effort due at the end of the semester) 20% Midterm Exam 15% Final Exam 25%

When Is Stuff Due? All assignments will be posted on a weekly basis to the course Blackboard site, under the “Assignments” folder. It is your responsibility to check this folder every week.

What If I Hand Stuff In Late? All of the assignments should be turned in during the class session on the day they are due (not e- mailed). ed assignments are acceptable only and only if you cannot make it to class (for excusable reasons).

What If I Hand Stuff In Late? No late work will be accepted during or after Week 14. Days LateMaximum Points 010 points 1 – 7 5 points > 7 3 points

Can I Cut This Class? Attendance at all class sessions is required. This class is highly participatory and interactive. If you are absent on a given day, you will receive a zero for any activities completed in class that day; large numbers of absences will undoubtedly hurt your grade.

 introduce you to the scientific literature and to current areas of scientific research  identify different elements of the scientific process  convey your understanding of the scientific process in writing  personalize the course to your interests Science in the News

 Read research summaries that interest you & choose one for this assignment  Type one page report  Turn in summary plus copy of the article  Total of 3 reports are due this semester Science in the News

Acceptable Sources of Information for Science in the News

Report should contain: 1.Who did the research, and where are they located? 2.What were they investigating? 3.Briefly summarize their findings in your own words. 4.Explain the significance of their results. Paraphrase, do not quote.

Example:

Who did the research, and where ? Example:

What were they investigating? Example:

Summary of findings Example:

Significance Example:

zoom-inMicroscopicWorld zoom-outMacroscopicWorld Motto: “Something for Everyone”

What Aspects of Science Fascinate Me?

Structural proteins Storage proteins Contractile proteins Transport proteins signaling antibodies enzymes

What Aspects of Science Fascinate Me?

Getting to know You… 1.First Name / Preferred Name 2.Hometown (country) 3.Most probable Major 4.Area of Science that interests you 5.One hobby / interest

“Five Minute University” Foundations of Scientific Process: fundamental content-knowledge tactics in thinking & analyzing that should remain memorable "The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them." --- William Lawrence Bragg “The value of education …is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks." --- Albert Einstein

Next time… What is Science? NEW CORE CURRICULUM: FOUNDATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS

What is Science? NEW CORE CURRICULUM: FOUNDATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS

Science is concerned with investigating and making sense out of the environment and trying to predict future observations.

The Scientific Method

Fundamental Assumption of Science Scientists generally accept the notion that an objective reality exists and that it can be “sampled” by making measurements that produce the data. Quantification + meaningful units

The Scientific Method In Detail

active observation experimentation Results in quantification with meaningful units

The Scientific Method In Detail

A Hypothesis is a tentative thought-derived or experiment-derived explanation & prediction. Mental construct Testable Invalid Or Not Invalid After collecting the data, explanations/interpretations can come from combination of obtained data with imaginative thinking or educated guessing

The Scientific Method In Detail

Science is falsifiable

So…Let’s say we wanted to know what the climate of NYC was year round

Based on this observation you might say that the climate of NYC is temperate not tropical

You can predict that a tropical tree wouldn’t survive well in NYC. How would you test this?

Our Central Park excursion continues… Maybe you want to measure the circumferences of different species of trees When you collect your data, you need the data you collect to be in well defined units.

Units are a well defined and agreed upon referent (given property in terms of another, more familiar object)

There Are Two Systems of Units in Use Today English system Many units based upon parts of the human body Metric (SI) system Established in base units: meter (m) kilogram (kg) second (s) ampere (A) kelvin (K) mole (mol) candela (cd) all other units derive from these

Units and Unit Conversions The metric/US customary units mix-up in 1999  $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter was lost ! Sometimes We Need to Convert Between These Two Systems

All measurements include uncertainty or “error”

There are two types of error… Systematic Error: is a bias in your measurement method; systematic shift of the mean (average) in one direction or another Random Error: is due to “random” perturbations in your measurement; intrinsic variability that comes from taking independent measurements

We deal with the two types of errors differently Systematic Errors Sought after & suppressed Random Error: Cannot be suppressed, Can be accounted for… That’s why we take multiple independent measurements

How to deal with systematic errors: Change the method Instrument Error Method Error Personal Error Parallax error is introduced as we may read values at an angle.

How to deal with random errors: take multiple measurements

Take Home: Units Conversions There’s always uncertainty

Choosing the right instruments There’s a right tool for every job Even though we often think of our senses as reliable, often they are anything but…

Color Contrast Green and orange same on blue and yellow background Science is in a search for an objective view / understanding of the world of the world

Color Contrast Green and orange same on blue and yellow background

TEST How can you convince yourself?

Experiments represent a re-creation of an event or occurrence, & enables us to test a hypothesis. Experiments are controlled

Role of Experiments Studies a phenomenon under known conditions Allows you to predict what will happen if a hypothesis is not wrong Can never prove a hypothesis 100% correct

Experimental Design Control group A standard for comparison Identical to experimental group except for the variable being studied Sampling error Non-representative sample skews results Minimize by using large samples

Fig. 1.10, p. 12 CONTROL GROUP The variable being tested is absent EXPERIMENTAL GROUP The variable being tested is present Draw samples from some aspect of nature Compile results Compare and analyze the test results Report on experimental design, test results, and conclusions drawn from results

Experiment 1 Hypothesis - Bacteriophages can protect mice against infectious bacteria Prediction - Mice injected with bacteriophages will not die as a result of bacterial injection

Experiment 1 - Test Experimental group Inject with bacteria and bacteriophage Control group Inject with bacteria and saline

Experiment 1 - Results & Conclusion Experimental group All mice lived Control group All mice died Conclusion - Bacteriophage injections protect mice against bacterial infections

Experiment 2 Prediction - Bacteriophage injections will be more effective treatment than single dose of the antibiotic streptomycin Test - Mice injected with bacteria, then with saline, streptomycin, or bacteriophage

Experiment 2 - Results When 2nd injection was: Bacteriophage - 11 of 12 mice lived 60mg/gm streptomycin - 5 of 12 lived 100mg/gm streptomycin - 3 of 12 lived Saline - all mice died Conclusion - Bacteriophage treatment can be as good or better than antibiotics

Minimizing Variables All mice were same age and sex, reared under same conditions Each mouse in each test group received exact same treatment All mice in control group received same amount of saline Variable tested was antibiotic treatment versus bacteriophage treatment

Science  a given investigation typically “fuels” a new investigation Science is concerned with investigating and making sense out of the environment and trying to predict future observations.

An example of the Scientific Process is Rutherford’s Test of the “Plum Pudding” model of the Atom.

So What’s the Difference Between a Theory & a Law? LAWS are general statements, often mathematical, of a body of observations. Laws do not attempt to explain how or why; they only summarize. THEORIES are explanations for the body of observations. A Theory gives us a reason why an experiment had a particular outcome. Scientists use theories to extend the body of observations in new directions.

Models are human constructs that attempt to incorporate the essential ingredients of a natural process or system and to make predictions about future behavior Models provide a conceptual framework for interpreting the data we collect. They help understand what is happening in the otherwise to us invisible world.

In Class Activity: What’s Inside the Black Box?

Theories and Scientific Laws Science vs. Pseudoscience NEW CORE CURRICULUM: FOUNDATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS Next week…