The Nature of Science and Technology Chapter 1: What is Science?

Section 1: Thinking Like a Scientist Key concepts –What skills do scientist use to learn about the world? –What attitudes are important in science?

Skills that Scientists Use Scientists use skills such as observing, inferring, predicting, classifying, and making models to learn more about the world.

Skill: Observing Using one or more of your senses to gather information Senses –Sight –Hearing –Touch –Taste –Smell

Types of Observations Quantitative –Deal with a number, or amount –Examples of Quantitative Observations are… Qualitative –Deal with descriptions that cannot be expressed in number. –Examples of Qualitative Observations are …

Skill: Inferring When you explain or interpret things you observe Based on things you already have knowledge about What can you infer about the frog?

Skill: Predicting Guessing what can happen in the future Based on past experience or evidence Examples of prediction are…

Skill: Classifying Grouping items that are alike in some way Examples of classifying are…

Skill: Making Models Creating representations of complex objects or processes Help with understanding things that are complex Examples of models are…

Scientific Attitudes Successful scientists possess certain important attitudes, or habits of mind, including curiosity, honesty, open-mindedness, skepticism, and creativity.

Key Concepts What skills do scientist use to learn about the world? What attitudes are important in science?

Section 2: Scientific Inquiry Key Concepts: –What is scientific inquiry? –What makes a hypothesis testable? –How do scientific theories differ from science laws?

What is Scientific Inquiry? Refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural worlds and propose explanations based on the evidence they gather Process of Discovery

Posing Questions Begins with a problem or question about an observation Questions come from experiences (from observations and inferences) Curiosity 1 st step in inquiry

Developing a Hypothesis A possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question Not a fact One possible way to explain a group of observations MUST be testable Researchers can carry out investigations and gather evidence Evidence will support or disprove the hypothesis Trials

Designing an Experiment After you make a hypothesis An experiment is designed to test it Experiment elements –Variables (factors that can change in an experiment, must be exactly the same) Independent Dependent –Controlled

Independent Variable Purposely changed to test a hypothesis

Dependent Variable Changes in response to independent variable

Controlled Experiment An experiment which only one variable is manipulated at a time

Importance of Controlling Variables Accuracy Consistency in results

Collecting and Interpreting Data Tables Data are the facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through observations Graphing Data

Drawing Conclusions Gather and interpret data Make conclusions about hypothesis Summary of what you learned from an experiment Support or disprove your hypothesis

Communicating The sharing of ideas and experimental findings with others through writing and speaking

Scientific Theories and Laws Theories –Well-tested explanation for a wide range of observations or experimental results Laws –Statement that describes what scientists expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions