Scientific Discoveries 1.What is the importance of peer review in the research process? 2.Why are many discoveries made in different places about the same time? 3.What role does creativity play in science?
Day 1: Sources of Scientific Information Rank in order from most reliable to least reliable the following sources of scientific information. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages with each cite. 1.Newspaper Article 2.Article from a science magazine 3.A blog or personal website 4.A university or government science website 5.Peer reviewed scientific journal
Day 2: Peer Review Peer review is a process where people with similar knowledge and skills evaluate each other’s work. Peer review is a way to control bias and ensure that the scientific method is followed. Scientists findings are subject to peer review before they can publish their results in a journal or get funding for a research proposal.
Day 2: Practice Be a peer reviewer. Explain how bias many have skewed the results of the following experiments. 1.A restaurant creates a customer satisfaction survey. For each question, the customer must choose one of 3 possible options: poor, very good or excellent. 2.An engineer has received funding from a tire company to test the stopping times of new type of tire. The company wants to use the results in a national ad campaign.
Day 3: Independent Discoveries Most ideas in science evolve over long periods of time with many contributors slowing building the foundation for them. In some cases, big ideas in science are discovered because their “time has come.” A good sign of this is when two or more scientists in different parts of the world make the same discovery at nearly the same time.
Day 3: Examples of Independent Discoveries. 1.Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace discover the Theory of Evolution at about the same time and in opposite parts of the world. Although, even Wallace admitted that Darwin discovered the idea first. 2.Newton and Leibniz discover calculus about the same time in the 17 th century. 3.discovery of oxygen by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Joseph Priestley, and Antoine Lavoisier,.
Day 4: Creativity in Science Creativity is a big part in making constructing scientific questions, experiments and explanations. Sometimes scientists, like Newton with his laws of motion and Einstein's Theory of Relativity, devise creative solutions to problems that no one saw coming.
Day 4: Creativity Sometimes designing tests for hypothesis requires creative problem solving. In 240 BC, Eratosthenes measures the Earth's circumference (240 BC) using shadows cast by the Sun. The Millikan Oil Drop Experiment showed that electric charge existed in whole units, +1 or -1. Louis Pasteur discovers germs using S-shaped flasks to prevent spores from contaminating broth.
Day 4: Continued Read the article, “Angels on the Head of a Pin.” Do you think that student was being creative or a smart alleck? Do you think this attitude will serve him well in science?
Day 5: Quiz (Finally!!)