1. What is Science?
Chapter 1.1

2. Curiosity: Where Science Begins

3. Discovery: Where Science Ends

4. Branches of Science Natural Science is divided into three branches:
Physical Science
Earth and Space Science
Life Science (a.k.a. biology)

5. Natural Science Physical Science Earth & Space Science Life Science
Physics Geology Botany
Chemistry Astronomy Ecology
Meteorology Genetics
Oceanography Zoology

6. Scientific Method
Chapter 1.2

7. Scientific Method
a plan for gathering, organizing and communicating information.
You have to have a plan!

8. Basic Steps in the Method
1. Make an observation
Ex: A zookeeper notices that elephants become restless shortly before an earthquake.

9. 2. Formulate a hypothesis
An educated guess
Must be testable!
Ex: The zookeeper forms a hypothesis that, just before an earthquake occurs, an elephant detects a sound that humans are unable to hear.

10. Try steps 1 & 2
1. Make an observation
2. Formulate a hypothesis

11. 3. Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment and collecting data.
Ex: The zookeeper’s hypothesis could be tested by installing an instrument that can detect sounds that are too low or too high in frequency for humans to hear. Sounds detected by the instrument can then be compared to the elephant’s behavior and the timing of earthquakes.

12. Experiments have variables and controls
Independent variable: the part of the experiment that the researcher changes.
Dependent variable: the change that results from manipulation of the independent variable.
Control: The part of the experiment where conditions are the same for the experimental group and another group.

13. Example:
Independent variable
Dependent variable

14. 4. Analyze data & draw a conclusion
Ex: The zookeeper kept the following data, recording the lowest frequency sounds and animal and human behavior for four days:
Dec Dec Dec Dec. 25
1000 Hz Hz Hz Hz
Elephants
Calm
Agitated
Humans

15. Elephant example continued:
Data gathered was compared to an elephant’s range of hearing and earthquake data for those four days.
Range of hearing in Hertz
The national earthquake center detected a large earthquake under the Indian Ocean on Dec. 25.
Earthquake data:

16. So, in the elephant example, is the hypothesis correct?
Conclusion: The data gathered supports the hypothesis.
Low frequency sounds emitted by shifting earth can be detected by elephants, causing a change in their behavior.

17. 5. Report Results: Publish
When can findings be called a theory?
Theories are supported by a large body of evidence.
*(Notice the absence of the word “true”).

18. Measurement in Science
Chapter 1.3

19. Scientific Notation
10000 = 1 x 104
24327 = x 104
1000 = 1 x 103
7354 = x 103
100 = 1 x 102
482 = 4.82 x 102
10 = 1 x 101
89 = 8.9 x 101 (not usually done)
1 = 100
1/10 = 0.1 = 1 x 10-1
0.32 = 3.2 x 10-1 (not usually done)
1/100 = 0.01 = 1 x 10-2
0.053 = 5.3 x 10-2
1/1000 = = 1 x 10-3
= 7.8 x 10-3
1/10000 = = 1 x 10-4
= 4.4 x 10-4
Makes very large or very small numbers easier to work with.

20. SI units of measurement
SI Base Units
Physical Quantity Name of Unit Symbol
length meter m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
temperature kelvin K
electric current ampere D
amount of substance mole mol
luminous intensity candela cd
SI (or international system) is built upon seven metric units (base units).
Additional units, called derived units are made from combinations of base units.
Some Common Derived Units
Area square meter m²
Volume meter cubed m³
Density kg per m³ kg/m³
Pressure kg/m²•s² Pa
Energy kg•m²/s² J

21. Converting Measurements
Dimensional Analysis: The skill of converting from one unit to another using a conversion factor.
Ex: How many seconds are in a day?
Work on practice handout.

22. Presenting Scientific Data
Chapter 1.4

23. See handout for examples.
Graph it!
Three common types of graphs are:
Bar:
Pie:
- Line:
See handout for examples.

24. How might you graph the following?
Graphing Practice Problem
Time ( seconds ) Distance (meters)