Nature of Science Notes

Nature of Science Nature of Science –

Scientific should be reliable and always changing Science is complex

No step-by-step method will always be the answer to a question

science relies on skills: making inferences and observations, asking questions analyzing data communicating to others.

Observations and Inferences

Observation – Using your senses or a tool to record an event, characteristic, or behavior Example:

Inference – a logical conclusion drawn from available evidence and prior knowledge. They often develop from observations. Example :

Effective Scientific Questioning Scientific Question –

question based on observations identifies something you would like to learn more about by

experimentation/researching /survey. Good scientific questions will:

Be testable through experimentation, survey or research Be based on observations Deal with the natural world Be genuine, something we don’t already know the answer to

[It is NOT a scientific question if it:] Includes personal bias and opinion Has to deal with morals and values Deals with the supernatural cannot be measured

Processes Used by Scientists

Ask a Question (state the problem) questions come from observations Example: When dropped from a height of 5 meters, will buttered toast

land butter-side up or butter-side down more often?

Form a Hypothesis Hypothesis – A detailed statement of what you expect the answer to

your question to be “Educated Guess”, prediction

Example: If dropped from a height of 5 meters, toast will land buttered side down 75% of the time.

Conducting Experiments Test the Hypothesis

conduct experiments, make observations, and take surveys Controlled Experiment – tests only one factor (variable) at a time Variables:

Independent Variable – the factor that you change/manipulate Dependent Variable – the factor that is being observed Controlled Variables – the factors that remain the same/are NOT

changed or manipulated When testing the hypothesis, these are several things to consider:

Control Group (one) – nothing is tested; this acts as a baseline, i.e. what would happen in a normal situation

Experimental Groups (one or more) – variables are tested in these groups

Sample Experiment3. Test the Hypothesis – Example of a Test

Experimental Scenario: Ms. Freeman and Ms. Dowd wanted to determine if there was a correlation between eating a nutritionally balanced breakfast and success on tests. One group of students was given a healthy breakfast and another group ate their normal breakfast before a test. They found that 7 out of 10 students who ate the healthy breakfast scored 80% or better on tests while 5 out of 10 students who ate their regular breakfast scored 80% or better on tests.

Identify the following from the above experimental scenario: Independent Variable: ___________________________________ Dependent Variable: ____________________________________ Controlled Variables: ____________________________________ Control Group: ________________________________________ Experimental Group: ____________________________________

More Processes Used by Scientists Analyze the Results

This is completed after all data from experiments has been collected

Tables and graphs are usually used in this step Draw Conclusions

Do your results support your hypothesis? Answer is YES repeat experiments or observations to verify

results Answer is NO check for errors; formulate a new hypothesis

Communicate Results Communicate results through written or oral report