THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

What Science Is and Is Not

Science  Is a systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it.  Attempts to discover how the rules of the natural world operate and what effect they have.

Science  Examines the workings of the natural world by collection evidence.  Does not deal with the supernatural.  Is not a collection of never-changing facts about the world.

The Process of Science

 Consists of  Testing ideas  Exploration and discovery  Community analysis and feedback  Benefits and outcomes

The Process of Science  Testing ideas  Is at the heart of science.  Ideas are expressed as a hypothesis A hypothesis is a testable idea that attempts to explain a phenomenon or answer a scientific question.

The Process of Science Hypotheses are used to generate predictions. An experiment is an activity designed to test the validity of a prediction or a hypothesis. An experiment includes an independent variable (IV), dependent variable (DV), and controlled variables (CV).

The Process of Science The IV is the variable that the scientist manipulates. The DV is the variable that depends on the conditions set up in the experiment. The CV variables are kept constant.

The Process of Science  Testing ideas  Includes gathering and interpreting data Data is evidence. Once data is collected and recorded it is analyzed to determine if it supports or refutes a hypothesis.

The Process of Science  Exploration and discovery  Often begins with the observation of some phenomenon that needs to be explained. Observations are made with the senses or sensitive instruments.  Questions are explored through discussions with other scientist or reading scientific literature.  Sharing data and ideas often leads to an inspiration or the exploration of other relevant questions.

The Process of Science  Community analysis and feedback  The scientific community, through peer review and replication, helps to verify the accuracy results and contributes to the establishment of scientific theories.

The Process of Science  Benefits and outcomes  Environmental ethics explores how environmental science interacts with, and is guided by, a society’s morals and principles. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that involves the study of behvaior.