SCI 111: Introduction to Physics and Chemistry Chapter 1 What Is Science?

How would you describe this baseball to someone over the phone? Properties.

Quantifying Properties (aka Measurements) Measurement is a Process (3 steps) 1.“Comparing”Comparing 2.“Procedure”Procedure 3.“Counting”Counting Measurement always contains: Number (How Much?) Name (Of What?).

Nature of Science Collecting observations Developing explanations Testing explanations Scientific Method / Scientific Investigation 3 General Scientific Activities “Understanding thru experimental evidence”.

Nature of Science “Tentative” explanation about a phenomenon Thought-derived or experiment-derived An “Educated Guess” compatible with the data Provides framework for understanding or describing it Tested by Experiments / Controlled Experiments Support: “Re-creation” of an event or occurrence ; “Reproducible” Could lead to a Theory or Scientific Law Hypothesis

Nature of Science Broad working hypothesis Based on extensive experimental evidence Tells you “Why” something happens. Theory Fig 1.16 Alfred Wegener ( )

Nature of Science Wider-ranging phenomena Can be expressed as: Scientific Law Scientific Principle Helps explain a more narrow range More specific set of relationships. Both help explain relationships that occur in nature consistently time after time Describe how objects behave or act Fig 1.14

Nature of Science Description of a theory or idea that accounts for all known properties Helps us understand something that cannot always be directly observed Examples:  Physical  Mental (Conceptual)  An Equation. Model Fig 1.15

Equations and Symbols Equations Mathematical relationships between properties Used to:  Describe a property  Define a concept  Describe how quantities change relative to each other Symbols Represent specific quantities or measured properties Shorthand for a message (e.g. Δ - a change in). Understandings of Measurements

Measurement Systems 3 Fundamental Properties (Standard Units) (most basic “Of What?” terms) Metric Systems (SI) centimeter [cm] gram [g] LENGTH MASS TIME meter [m] mkscgs kilogram [kg] second [s] p 5

Measurement Systems Other properties are “derived” from the Fundamental Properties Fig 1.6 Fig 1.8 The extent of a surface How much space something occupies

Mass Density (ρ) “Compactness of matter” Ratio of mass to volume Characteristic of a given material Table 1.4

Represent larger or smaller amounts by factor of 10 A “Simplification” A movie giving a perspective on powers of ten.movie Fig 1.7 Metric Prefixes

Table 1.3 and in the front of textbook Important ones to remember / know: mega- kilo- centi- milli- micro-

Understandings from Measurements Mathematical Review (Appendix A)  Solving Equations  Conversion of Units  Scientific Notation How to Solve Problems  Steps to success ; Not steps to memorize  As you work problems, refer to this methodology.

Next Time Begin Chapter 2: Motion