1. Life Science
Chapter 1 Section 1

2. Work of Science What makes popcorn pop? How do microwaves work?
How do microwaves make things hot?
By asking question scientists find out information about things in the world and universe

3. Types of Science Physics Life Science Energy and Matter
Animals, plants, and other living things

4. Critical Thinking
You don’t have to be a trained scientist to be able to solve problems in your life
What type of problems do you solve every day?
Example:
You go to turn your CD player on and it doesn’t work.
What do you do now?

5. Scientific Method Steps State the Problem Gather Information
Form a Hypothesis
Perform an Experiment or Test the Hypothesis
Analyze the Data
Draw Conclusions
Then the hypothesis is either supported or not supported

6. State the Problem
State what the problem is that you want to research and experiment
In the book the vet tech wanted to find out whether different types of cat litter can cause an irritation to cat’s skin.
To test this problem she would have initially tried out 2 or 3 different litters to see if any of them irritated the cat’s skin
If irritation occurs then there is a problem to test!

7. Gather Information
Observations and experiments are ways to gather information.
Fieldwork which is observations or experiments done outside the lab – observations in nature.
How else would you research and gather information?
Online
Search engines
Google scholar
Reputable Books

8. Form a Hypothesis
Once you have stated the problem and have gathered your necessary information you can form a hypothesis.
Hypothesis:
Explanation that can be tested
The Vet Tech hypothesizes that something in the cat litter is irritating the cat’s skin.

9. Test the Hypothesis How do we test a hypothesis?
Do an experiment
The hypothesis is tested using controlled conditions
If doing an experiment using animals make sure to get the appropriate approval

10. Test the Hypothesis Control Variable
Standard to which the outcome of a test is compared
Variable
Something in an experiment that can change
An experiment should have ONLY 1 variable. Besides the difference in the cat litter the cats should be treated the same

11. Analyze Data
During the experiment you should be recording some form of data.
Ex. The height of the plants
How often a cat scratches
Record the data in a journal
Use Excel to input your data and see your results

12. Draw Conclusions
The answer to the problem that you stated based upon observation and data
Is the hypothesis accepted or rejected?
If you reject the hypothesis then new experiments are most likely going to be necessary
The Vet Tech accepts her hypothesis but does not repeat the experiment due to ethical reasons

13. Report Results Share the information with the public
Write a paper and have it published
Write a story for the local newspaper
The Vet Tech let her client know that the cat litter with deodorant caused the cats to scratch and lose their hair
Make sure to explain any changes you would make if you did the experiment again!

14. Theories
Theory:
Explanation of things or events based on scientific knowledge
Result of many observations and experiments
NOT a guess or an opinion
The experiment has to have been tested more than once
The experiment should be repeatable
If the results are always the same then it can be proposed to become a theory
Years later theories can be disproved with new technology and findings

15. Laws Law: Can be modified as new information becomes known
Statement about how things work in nature that seems to be true all the time.
Can be modified as new information becomes known
Less likely to change than a theory
Explain what till happen under certain conditions but do not necessarily explain why it happened
There are a lot of hypothesis, few theories, and even fewer laws

16. Scientific Units
We use SI units as the standard system of measurement in science
Look at Table 1
Distance = Meter
Mass = Kilogram
Time = Second

17. Applying Science Read the applying science article on page 11
Answer the solving the problem questions after you have read
Turn the answers to the questions into me