What is Science ?Chapter 1

Thinking Like a Scientist

Science- a way of learning about the natural world

Scientists use several skills to understand this world:

ObservingInferringPredictingScientific attitudes

Observation

How do you observe the world around you?

Observation uses one or more of your senses: Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste.

Writing down your observation it’s important to be extremely clear and descriptive as possible.

Inferring

Inferring is to explain or interpret what you already know based on reasoning; also called an inference.

This is not a wild guess.

Always based on information you already know

Not always correct

Predicting

Predicting is an idea of what will happen in the future based on past experiences or evidence.

A scientist must have gathered information on a topic, also called observation, and then can make a prediction.

Scientific Attitudes

Curiosity-asking questions no one has before

Honesty-reporting finding truthfully

Open-mindedness-accepting new and different ideas

Skepticism-doubt new ideas until fully tested

Creativity-new ways and ideas to solve problems

Scientific Inquiry

Scientific inquiry- when scientists study the natural world and come up with explanations based on evidence that they have gathered.

5 steps (also called the Scientific Method)

Posing QuestionsDeveloping a HypothesisDesigning an ExperimentCollecting and Interpreting DataDrawing Conclusions

Inquiry starts after an observation and inferences and questions will be posed.

Coming up with an answer to those questions is a hypothesis, or an educated guess on what the explanation of the observations and evidence.

A hypothesis must be testable

Designing an Experiment!

A scientist will design an experiment to test their hypothesis.

First a scientist will develop a controlled experiment

Conditions are established and controlled by the scientist

Variables - a factor that can change in an experiment- will be determined to see what effects the experiment.

Describe a controlled

experiment:A test of a hypothesis under conditions established by the scientist. The scientist will determine how one variable affects the outcome of the experiment.

Controlling variables allows scientists not worry about the effects of other variables in the results of the experiment.

Manipulated variable- a variable or factor that the scientist changes in the experiment

Responding variable- the variable or factor that changes or responds to the variable that the scientist changes (the manipulated variable).

Data- Facts, figures and other evidence gathered through observation.

So what is the ultimate goal of

science?To develop concepts that help explain observations and how the natural world works

What is a scientific theory? A well tested scientific concept that explains a wide range of observations.

Name some scientific theories: Atomic theory, plate tectonics, evolution, Is global warming an idea or a theory?

What is scientific law? A statement that describes what scientists expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions

Name some scientific laws:

Gravity, the speed of light, the gas laws, superposition, thermodynamics.

Here are my definitions:

Theory- the most logical explanation for events that happen in nature.

Law- A statement of fact that has been tested many times and is accepted as true with no exceptions.

Scientific method- A systematic approach to problem solving.