Chapter 1; Section 1What is Science?

What Science Is and Is Not

• Science is always _______________________.

• Science is NOT just a collection of _______________________________facts.

• Examples of science changing:• Pluto is changed to a dwarf planet• Depiction of dinosaurs• Genetics and gene therapy

changing

never-changing

What Science Is and Is Not

• Science is an organized way of _____________ and ________________ evidence about the natural world.

• Science is a process because it is a way of ____________, a way of _____________, and “a way of ______________” about the world.

gatheringanalyzing

looking thinkingknowing

The Goals of Science

The goals of science are to give explanations for ___________________________, to understand ____________________, and to make ____________________.

events in the natural worldpatterns

predictions

Scientific Methodology

There isn’t any ____________________ “scientific method.” There is a general process of investigation called scientific methodology.

Scientific studies always begins with an ___________________.

Observations lead to _____________________.Scientists use further observations to make

_____________________________.

one or single

observationnew questions/problems

inferences

Examples of Inferences

Inferences

• Fire• Trees• Smoke• Brush• Light• Large fire• Deciduous trees• Conifers

Observations

• hot• smells• daytime• dangerous• spreads• crackling, popping,

and hissing• wind

What’s an Inference?

• An inference is a logical conclusion based on experience and prior knowledge– Metal that is white and glowing = ??– Water that is in a beaker that is boiling = ??– Ice/snow outside = ??– Facial expressions

Observations

• How do we observe??– Sight– Sound– Touch/Feel– Smell– Taste

What’s a Hypothesis?

A hypothesis is a scientific __________________ that can be __________.

***A hypothesis is NOT an educated guess***

explanationtested

Designing Controlled Experiments

• Testing a hypothesis involves an experiment that keeps track of ________________.

• Only __________ variable is changed while all other variables should be unchanged or ______________________.

• Controlling variables is important to an experiment because it shows which variable influenced the result of the experiment.

variablesone

controlled

The Control Group

• An experiment is divided into _____________ and experimental groups.

• A control group is necessary because…it provides data for comparison. It sets a base for comparison.

control

Collecting and Analyzing Data

• _____________________________ data are numbers found by counting or measuring.Examples:

• _____________________________ data describe things that cannot be counted.Examples:

• Experimental and controls groups are very _______________

because the larger the sample size, the more __________________ scientists are about their data analysis.

Quantitative

Qualitative

largeconfident

Drawing Conclusions

• Using data, scientists can ________________, _____________________, or draw a valid _______________________.

support/refutechange the hypothesis

conclusion

When Experiments are NOT Possible

• ____________________ keeps scientists from doing certain kinds of experiments.

• Ethics are beliefs about what is _____________________________________.

• Examples:– Animal experimentation– Genetic engineering– Cloning– Stem cell research

Ethics

right and/or wrong