Science as a Process

Who uses it?

What is it?

Why should I care?

Science

Do you have any problems to solve?

Any big or any small ones?

Any of these sound familiar?

Where are My Shoes?

What should I have for lunch?

What class do I have next?

Did I do my homework for that class?

What is the cure for cancer?

Which deodorant works the longest?

Science: who uses it? What is it? Why should I care?

1. Why should people learn about physics and chemistry?

2. Why is a basic knowledge about science essential to being a

productive citizen?

3. What do you think is the most significant science or

technology advancement in the last 10 years? Explain

4. How is science different from English, History, Math or other

academic subjects?

5. What do you believe is the best “tool” for doing science?

Explain

USING YOUR BEST “TOOL”

Lost on the Moon

But what is ‘science’?

Make a List

10 Things I KNOW 10 Things I WONDER

How do you KNOW these thing?

Are you CERTAIN these things are accurate?

Has anyone discovered that

something they “knew” turned out

to be wrong?

Is time travel possible?

SCIENCE!

Yes Even

You!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone uses it everyday.

A systematic

method to sort

out and discover

facts that can be

analyzed to draw

conclusions and

infer truths about

the natural world.

No really, what is ‘science’?

Science IS: • LIMITED TO THE NATURAL WORLD

• OBSERVABLE

• TESTABLE

• MEASURABLE

• REPEATABLE

• MODIFIABLE

• VERIFIABLE

• BUILT UPON TESTABLE PREDICTIONS

• BASED ON EXPERIMENTATION

• OPEN TO CHANGE

• BIASED

• DISPROVABLE

• OBJECTIVE

• STRONG THEORIES INFERRED FROM SOLID EVIDENCE

• MADE STRONGER BY DIFFERENT LINES OF EVIDENCE

• A SEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING

“Science has transformed our modern world

deeply and spectacularly. Science has shaken

up every walk of life so much that it is

impossible to escape its grasp, for better or

worse.”

Gervais Mbarga and Jean-Marc Fleury. Science Journalism course, WFSJ

Top Ten

What do you think? and know?

Science begins with: "I want to know"

explaining what we mean by to "know" can be

extremely complex since it can have many

meanings.

How Do We Know?

To "know" an object, fact, or phenomenon, means that you can

describe it visually and virtually, explain how it interacts with

other objects around it, and tell how it influences its

environment and is influenced in return.

Within the context of science, to "know" means to

exercise curiosity, to observe and collect sufficient

information and intelligence to identify, distinguish

and describe the different features of reality in a

most truthful way.

And exercising curiosity produces knowledge…..

Let’s Get Curious…

…And knowledge leads to understanding….

…Which makes it possible to apply reason,

observe and analyze….

…Which allows us to BELIEVE what we’ve

come to KNOW…

Why do we believe it?

How do we know something is

True?

Can Science establish “truth”?

How do we know?

Why do we Believe it?

What’s the

Evidence?

How do we know?

Usually we know

something because

we have

experienced it

personally OR a

trusted source has

given us

information.

Fact vs Speculation

Fact - BASED ON DATA a general agreement among competent observers

studying the same thing

A fact can be “disproved” if experimental data shows otherwise.

Speculation - a statement that cannot be tested to be correct and/or incorrect.

“Beings from somewhere else in the universe have visited earth and influenced ancient civilizations.”

Ancient Aliens

Faces of the Gods

Fact “An observation that has been repeatedly confirmed, and for all practical purposes, is accepted as ‘true’”. (National Academy of

Science, 1998)

“Truth in science is never final and what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow”. (NAS, 1998)

Beliefs give an intrinsic significance to things.

Example: In some cultures, the rainbow is a warning of bad

things to come, it is God's sword; while in others, it might

indicate where a treasure is hiding, and is therefore a good

omen.

Why do we believe it?

What’s the evidence?

As we use science to confirm our observations and

predictions about the natural world, we must continually

ask ourselves – “what’s the evidence”….

Practice It

Ordeal by Check

How/Why is this activity a good

model for the process of science?

THE GOAL OF SCIENCE IS

NOT TO ESTABLISH “TRUTH”

So what is Science?

Theories are the ultimate goal of

science. They explain observations and

are tested after generating hypotheses.

Remember…in science…

Theories are only “true” until they

are proven no longer to be “true”.

Once you have gathered observations you believe to be true, you test them by generating a hypothesis.

Predictions from observations

First identify your Purpose

This is the question that you are trying to answer or

problem that you are trying to solve.

(In other words – why you are doing the experiment)

Then generate a Hypothesis

You will be conducting a controlled experiment so

narrow it down and be very specific.

(In other words – predict what you believe will be

supported by the experimental results.)

Hypothesis

A predictive

statement based on observations and research that can be tested.

Two types of OBSERVATIONS

qualitative

quantitative

descriptive

measure/count

Experimenting

Tests a hypothesis by

collecting information

under controlled

conditions.

There are two groups in an experiment

Control group – all conditions kept normal. Basis of

comparison

Experimental group (test group) – all conditions kept the

same as the control except for the single condition being

tested.

It's Alive

Variables (the experimental group)

Independent variable – manipulated variable- the

thing changed (tested/varied) in the experiment.

Dependent Variable – the variable being

measured.

The dependent variable depends on the

independent variable.

Homer notices that his shower is

covered in a strange green slime.

His friend Barney tells him that

coconut juice will get rid of the

green slime. Homer decides to

check this this out by spraying half

of the shower with coconut juice.

He sprays the other half of the

shower with water. After 3 days of

"treatment" there is no change in

the appearance of the green slime

on either side of the shower.

6. What was the initial

observation?

Identify the-

7. Control Group

8. Independent Variable

9. Dependent Variable

10. What should Homer's

conclusion be?

Smithers thinks that a special juice will

increase the productivity of workers. He

creates two groups of 50 workers each and

assigns each group the same task (in this

case, they're supposed to staple a set of

papers). Group A is given the special juice

to drink while they work. Group B is not

given the special juice. After an hour,

Smithers counts how many stacks of papers

each group has made. Group A made 1,587

stacks, Group B made 2,113 stacks.

Identify the:

1. Control Group

2. Independent Variable

3. Dependent Variable

4. What should Smithers' conclusion be?

5. How could this experiment be improved?

Identify the-

• Control Group

• Independent Variable

• Dependent Variable

What should Bart's conclusion be?

How could Bart's experiment be improved?

Bart believes that mice exposed to radio waves will

become extra strong (maybe he's been reading too much

Radioactive Man). He decides to perform this experiment

by placing 10 mice near a radio for 5 hours. He

compared these 10 mice to another 10 mice that had not

been exposed. His test consisted of a heavy block of

wood that blocked the mouse food. he found that 8 out of

10 of the radio-waved mice were able to push the block

away. 7 out of 10 of the other mice were able to do the

same.

Krusty was told that a certain itching powder was the newest

best thing on the market, it even claims to cause 50% longer

lasting itches. Interested in this product, he buys the itching

powder and compares it to his usual product. One test subject

(A) is sprinkled with the original itching powder, and another

test subject (B) was sprinkled with the Experimental itching

powder. Subject A reported having itches for 30 minutes.

Subject B reported to have itches for 45 minutes.

Identify the-

• Control Group

• Independent Variable

• Dependent Variable

Explain whether the data supports the

advertisements claims about its product.

Lisa is working on a science project. Her task is to answer the

question: "Does Rogooti (which is a commercial hair product)

affect the speed of hair growth". Her family is willing to

volunteer for the experiment.

Describe how Lisa would perform

this experiment. Identify the control

group, and the independent and

dependent variables in your

description.

In summary:

♦ Independent variables (I vary) answer the

question "What do I change?“

♦ Dependent variables answer the question

"What am I going to observe or measure?”

♦ Controlled variables answer the question

"What do I keep the same?”

♦ The Experimental Control answers the question

“How do my results compare?”

Drawing Conclusions – developing theories

An explanation for the data collected.

The theory is based on the results of testing and should explain how you reached that conclusion.

Includes whether or not data and observations agree with your hypothesis.

Conclusion

It is OK if it turns out that your data

doesn’t support your hypothesis if you

learned.

It is OK if it turns out that your hypothesis

was not correct if you learned.

How to engage in the PROCESS

of science.

Shed some Light on it…