Chapter 1: Science Skills Coach Kelsoe Physical Science Pages 2-25

Section 1.1 What is Science? Coach Kelsoe Physical Science Pages 2-6

Objectives Explain how science and technology are related. List the major branches of natural science and describe how they overlap. Describe the main ideas of physical science.

Science from Curiosity Humans have always been curious by nature. Science is a system of knowledge and the methods you use to find that knowledge. Science begins with curiosity and often ends with discovery.

Science from Curiosity Experiments provide all kinds of data. Qualitative data is information such as color, texture, or very broad. Silver, soft, and large are qualitative descriptions. Quantitative data is information with numbers. 24 gallons, 30 seconds, and 6 feet tall are quantitative measures.

Science and Technology Technology is the use of knowledge to solve practical problems. The goal of science is to expand knowledge; the goal of technology is to apply that knowledge. Science and technology are interdependent. Advances in one lead to advances in the other.

Branches of Science Sciences can be divided into three categories: physical science, earth and space science, and life science.

Physical Sciences Physical science covers a broad range of study that focuses on non-living things. Chemistry is the study of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter. Physics is the study of matter and energy and the interactions between the two through forces and motion.

Earth and Space Science The application of physics and chemistry to the study of Earth is called Earth science. The foundation of Earth science is geology. Geology is the study of the origin, history, and structure of Earth. Astronomy is the study of the universe beyond Earth, including the sun, moon, planet, and stars. It is the foundation of space science.

Life Science The study of living things is known as biology. It is the central foundation of life science. Biology is not only the physics and chemistry of living things, but the study of the origin and behavior of living things.

Big Ideas of Physical Science Space and Time Matter and Change Forces and Motion Energy

Space and Time The universe is very old and very big. The age of the universe is about 13.7 billion years old. The observable universe is about 700,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (700 million billion billion) meters in diameter.

Matter and Change A very small amount of the universe is matter. Matter has volume and mass, and on Earth usually takes the form of a solid, liquid, or gas. Matter is made up of small building blocks called atoms.

Forces and Motion Forces cause changes in motion. You can not have motion without some sort of force, whether it is a contact force, gravitational force, electrical force, nuclear force, or other field forces.

Energy Energy exists in many forms. Moving objects have a kind of energy called kinetic energy. Objects moved against a force have a kind of energy called potential energy. When one form of matter changes into another form, energy is either absorbed or released. Matter itself can also be changed into energy. Energy can be transferred from one form or object to another, but it can never be destroyed.

Vocabulary Science Technology Chemistry Physics Geology Astronomy Biology