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
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?
A systematic
method to sort
out and discover
facts that can be
analyzed to draw
conclusions and
infer truths about
the natural world.
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
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?
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”….
Theories are the ultimate goal of
science. They explain observations and
are tested after generating hypotheses.
Once you have gathered observations you believe to be true, you test them by generating a hypothesis.
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.)
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.