Questions you may have asked yourself:

•Why do people suggest that chemicals are bad for us?

•Why should I study chemistry?

•Why do scientists so often say “more study is needed”?

•Why do scientists bother with studies that have no immediate applications?

•Can we change lead into gold?

Model

35 Xenon Atoms – Don Eigler - 1989

Carbon Monoxide Man

Solid-Liquid-Gas Simulation

SI Unit Definitions from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

The IPK – International Prototype Kilogram

LeftRight

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Testing a Scientific Claim – Thinking Critically about a Claim

FLaReS Test (a modification of a more substantial approach):

•Falsifiability: Can the claim be proven to be either true or false?

•Logical: Arguments supporting the claim must be logical – if any premises in the argument are false, the claim cannot be validated

•Reproducible: If based on scientific evidence, the evidence must be reproducible.

•Sufficient: The evidence provided must be adequate to support the claim. • The burden of evidence rests with the claimant• Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence• Evidence based on authority and/or testimony is never adequate

•A claim must pass all tests to be considered valid.

Example of FLaReS

A psychic claims he can bend a spoon using only the powers of his mind. However, he says he can do so only when the conditions are right; there must be no one with negative energy present. Evaluate this psychic’s claim using the FLaReS test

Falsifiable?

Logical?

Reproducible?

Sufficient?