The Nature of Science and Technology

Chapter 1: What is Science?

Section 1: Thinking Like a Scientist

• Key concepts– What skills do

scientist use to learn about the world?

– What attitudes are important in science?

Skills that Scientists Use

• Scientists use skills such as observing, inferring, predicting, classifying, and making models to learn more about the world.

Skill: Observing

• Using one or more of your senses to gather information

• Senses– Sight– Hearing– Touch– Taste– Smell

Types of Observations

• Quantitative– Deal with a

number, or amount

– Examples of Quantitative Observations are…

• Qualitative– Deal with

descriptions that cannot be expressed in number.

– Examples of Qualitative Observations are …

Skill: Inferring• When you explain

or interpret things you observe

• Based on things you already have knowledge about

• What can you infer about the frog?

Skill: Predicting

• Guessing what can happen in the future

• Based on past experience or evidence

• Examples of prediction are…

Skill: Classifying

• Grouping items that are alike in some way

• Examples of classifying are…

Skill: Making Models

• Creating representations of complex objects or processes

• Help with understanding things that are complex

• Examples of models are…

Scientific Attitudes

• Successful scientists possess certain important attitudes, or habits of mind, including curiosity, honesty, open-mindedness, skepticism, and creativity.

Key Concepts

• What skills do scientist use to learn about the world?

• What attitudes are important in science?

Section 2: Scientific Inquiry

• Key Concepts:– What is scientific

inquiry?– What makes a

hypothesis testable?

– How do scientific theories differ from science laws?

What is Scientific Inquiry?

• Refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural worlds and propose explanations based on the evidence they gather

• Process of Discovery

Posing Questions

• Begins with a problem or question about an observation

• Questions come from experiences (from observations and inferences)

• Curiosity

• 1st step in inquiry

Developing a Hypothesis

• A possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question

• Not a fact• One possible way

to explain a group of observations

• MUST be testable• Researchers can

carry out investigations and gather evidence

• Evidence will support or disprove the hypothesis

• Trials

Designing an Experiment

• After you make a hypothesis• An experiment is designed to test it• Experiment elements

– Variables (factors that can change in an experiment, must be exactly the same)• Independent• Dependent

– Controlled

Independent Variable

• Purposely changed to test a hypothesis

Dependent Variable

• Changes in response to independent variable

Controlled Experiment

• An experiment which only one variable is manipulated at a time

Importance of Controlling Variables

• Accuracy• Consistency in results

Collecting and Interpreting Data

• Tables• Data are the

facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through observations

• Graphing Data0

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1stQtr

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EastWestNorth

Drawing Conclusions

• Gather and interpret data

• Make conclusions about hypothesis

• Summary of what you learned from an experiment

• Support or disprove your hypothesis

Communicating

• The sharing of ideas and experimental findings with others through writing and speaking

Scientific Theories and Laws

• Theories– Well-tested

explanation for a wide range of observations or experimental results

• Laws– Statement that

describes what scientists expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions