Scientific Literacy & the Scientific Method...Scientific Literacy Grade 10 Science Glenlawn Collegiate – Ms. W 2 | P a g e N o t e s Another aspect to being science literate is to

Scientific Literacy Grade 10 Science Glenlawn Collegiate – Ms. W

1 | P a g e N o t e s

Scientific Literacy & the Scientific Method

What does it mean to be “_________________”? You’ve probably hear that term before, and you might be

thinking that literate means the ability to ____________________ and __________________. But what does

it mean to be ________________________ literate? The thing is, is that for every subject there is different

“literacies” that are connected to that particular subject area. So the meaning of scientific literacy might be

described as the ability to read and write in the area of _______________________. But more specifically

scientific literacy goes beyond that and asks the questions, “Is there a different way to ______________ in

science?” “Is there a different way to __________________?”

One area that sets science apart from other disciplines is something called the _____________________

___________________. The starting place for this method is ________________________. Science, in its

simplest form, is nothing more than observing the world around us and asking the question “Why?” or

“How?” Whether you knew it or not, when you first asked

a parent or an older sibling “Why is the sky blue?” you

were engaged in _________________________________.

So what do scientists do? They ______________________,

________________________________, and

__________________________. In order to successfully do

that, they follow something called the Scientific Method.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwizqvL-jYDPAhVH8CYKHeP7AvQQjRwIBw&url=http://www.nerdybaby.com/every-baby-knows-the-scientific-method-mini-poster-11x17/&bvm=bv.131783435,d.cWw&psig=AFQjCNGvGKuezyckN-OK7dmQhnNsOCr_2A&ust=1473435732395350



Another aspect to being science literate is to know how to properly display data that you have

generated through the Scientific Method. We need to be literate in graphing skills to be successful

scientists.

What are the steps to making a proper graph?

1. Always use a ruler and a pencil to create a graph

2. Provide a title for the graph that accurately describes your data

3. Label your axes with the proper label AND provide the unit of measurement

4. Determine the largest and smallest values for each set of measurements. Knowing these

values will allow you to choose an appropriate scale for each axis. Make sure that the scale

extends your whole graph paper and spacing is even!

5. Plot your points clearly

6. Connect your points with a ruler that connects each point, OR a smooth curve that passes

through each point. A line of best fit may be needed.

Activity

Using the data tables below, prepare one graph (double line graph) with both sets of data below by

following the steps above. After you are finished, answer the following question for each graph:

what do you think this graph is showing us?

This graph represents data taken from an This graph represents data taken from a car

Indy 500 Car Race: driving down the highway:

Time (s) Distance (m)

0 0

2 30

4 60

6 90

8 120

10 150

12 180

14 210

16 240

18 270

Time (s) Distance (m)

0 0

1 10

2 25

3 50

4 85

5 135

6 190

7 265

8 340

9 450





The Process of Scientific Inquiry

_______________________ and ____________________ are the starting points for learning about the

natural world. However, investigating questions in ______________________, finding solutions to

___________________________, and deciding on appropriate courses of ________________________ in

different situations are not simple one-step tasks. Each of these skills is actually a multi-step process called

the _______________________ ________________________.

Is there only one “scientific method?”

________, there are several ___________________. Some versions have more ____________________

while others may have only a few, like the one on the earlier page. However, they all begin with the

identification of a _______________________ or ______________________ to be answered based on

______________________ of the world around us and provide an organized system for

________________________ and _______________________ an experiment.

Let’s take a look at specific version of the Scientific Inquiry Model: see next page!



The Scientific Method A Process for Scientific Inquiry



“Doing” Science vs. “Thinking” Science

The Scientific Inquiry Model is a great example of how to “______________” science. But science isn’t always

about doing. Doing has a very important place in science but isn’t the entire picture. There is also a way to

“______________________” scientifically…or to put it another way… to “THINK” like a

____________________. While _____________________ and ______________________ about science are

closely related and in many ways ____________________, they have a slightly different approach and can be

used at different times.

For instance, when you make _________________________ in everyday life, and generate a

____________________, you may want to do an ___________________________ or use the Scientific

Method. But at other times, you may not be able to do an experiment, so “__________________” the

scientific method may not always be appropriate or applicable. Does this mean that science is no longer

useful?? If we only see science as the Scientific Method we may fall into this trap. But fear not! Science is not

just limited to this narrow definition. There is more to science than just “___________________” the

Scientific Method. There is a way to “_____________________” scientifically.

While there are many ways to think scientifically we are going to focus on 3 _______________________ that

will lead out discussion. In order to ____________________ scientifically about something, or be

scientifically _______________________, we are going to consider the following questions:

_______________________________________?

_______________________________________?

_______________________________________?

Each of these questions comes with important criteria:



Is it Scientific? (Does it “play” by the rules of Science?)

Focuses on and aims to ________________________ the _______________________ world

Created from ______________________ ideas (falsifiable)

Produces ______________________, ______________________ evidence

Leads to ongoing ___________________________

Involves the scientific _________________________ (peer reviewed)

Can it be trusted?

Information comes from ____________________ and ____________________ sources

Accurately describes the views of the scientific _____________________

Issue is not __________________________ or made _______________________ controversial

Includes _________________ or __________________________ to available research and more

information

Can I explain it?

Identify the ___________________ points

Use _______________________ words and _______________________ FROM THE TEXT!

Written in ____________________ sentences without unnecessary words or _______________

Written for the intended ________________________

________________________ - __________________________



As you can see, these criteria turn almost into a type of ______________________ in order to

___________________________ things scientifically. If one criterion isn’t met it may still be considered

scientifically sound…but…if several criteria are missing the issue or topic becomes highly

_______________________ from a scientific view or way of thinking.

Here’s the thing…this sounds kinda mean and maybe a little bit harsh…but science doesn’t care what you

______________________ or how you _____________________. Science is concerned with

____________________. What we can prove and what we know for sure. It is a way of

____________________ the world and navigating through the minefield of information that exists all

around us. Science seeks to discover the ______________________ regardless of what you personally

______________________.



Are Units Important in Science?

___________!!! Units of measurement are the terms that we use to _______________________________

_______________. You probably know that units include things like seconds, kilograms, meters, and so forth.

Without standard units of measurement, scientists would have a huge problem understanding what other

scientists were saying. After all, if I were to refer to a meter as "the length of my leg" and another scientists

were to refer to it as "the length of a Saint Bernard dog", we'd have a lot of trouble when it came to do actual

science. To avoid this problem, the SI system of units gives us a _____________________________________

that we can agree on.

Although there are other systems of measurement, the two most common are the __________________

________________________ (SI) and the __________________system. In Canada, the official system of

measurement is the _________. Because of Canada’s close proximity to the United States, you should be

familiar with both systems. Both are used in certain contexts.

___________________________________: the modern version of the metric system; uses the metre as the

basic unit of length

__________________________________: the system most commonly used in the United States; the standard

unit of measurement for length is the foot

o If you look at a ruler marked in imperial units, you will notice that it is usually divided into halves,

quarters, eighths, and sixteenths, whereas the SI system uses tenths.

Below are listed some common imperial units of length and their relationships.

12 inches (in or ″) = 1 foot (ft or ′) 36 inches = 1 yard (yd)

3 feet = 1 yard 5280 feet = 1 mile (mi)

1760 yards = 1 mile



Importance of Significant Figures, Scientific Notation, Decimals & Rounding

1. SIGNIFICANT FIGURES (SIG FIGS)

Significant figures are those digits ________________ to express the results of a measurement to the

precision with which it was made. No measurement is ever absolutely correct since every measurement is

__________________by the ___________________ or ___________________ of the instrument used.

Ex: if a thermometer is graduated in one degree intervals and the temperature indicated by the mercury

column is between 55°C and 56°C, then the temperature can be read precisely only to the nearest degree (55°C

or 56°C, whichever is closer). If the graduations are sufficiently spaced, the fractional degrees between 55°C

and 56°C can be estimated to the nearest tenth of a degree. If a more precise measurement is required, then a

more precise measuring instrument (e.g., a thermometer graduated in one-tenth degree intervals) can be used.

This will increase the number of significant figures in the reported measurement. (See Figure 1)

Figure 1. A typical Laboratory Thermometer graduated in °C.

In dealing with measurements and significant figures the following terms must be understood:

___________________________ tells the reproducibility of a particular measurement or how often a particular measurement will repeat itself in a series of measurements.

___________________________ tells how close the measured value is to a known or standard accepted value of the same measurement.

Measurements showing a high degree of precision _______________ always reflect a high degree of

_________________ nor does a high degree of ________________ mean that a high degree of precision has

been obtained. It is quite possible for a single, random measurement to be very accurate as well as to have a

series of highly precise measurements be inaccurate. Ideally, high degrees of accuracy and precision are

desirable, and they usually occur together, but they are not always obtainable in scientific measurements.



Every measuring device has a series of ___________________or _______________________ on it that are

used in making a measurement. The precision of any measurement depends on the ______________ of the

markings. The _____________ the interval represented by the marking, the _________ precise the possible

measurement.

The ___________________ of a measuring device depends on how _______________ the graduations are

marked or engraved on the device in reference to some ____________________ measurements.

For most measuring devices used in everyday work, the graduations on them are usually

____________________ ____________________ for general use.

In the laboratory, it is not always advisable to accept a measuring device as accurate unless the instrument has

been calibrated. ____________________ is the process of _________________ the graduations on a

measuring device for _____________________.



Whether the information from a series of measurements is obtained first-hand or second hand through

another source, the number of significant figures must be determined in order to keep all the results

meaningful. The rules for writing and identifying significant figures are:



2. ROUNDING-OFF SIG FIGS NUMBERS

When dealing with significant figures, it is often necessary to _________________________ numbers in

order to keep the ____________________ of calculations ______________________. To round-off a number

such as 64.82 to ____________ significant figures means to express it as the nearest _____________ digit

number. Since 64.82 is between 64.8 and 64.9, but closer to 64.8, then the result of the round-off is 64.8.

A number such as 64.85 is equally close to 64.8 and 64.9. In this case and in similar cases, the rule to observe

is to ___________________ to the nearest ______________ number which is 64.8. This rule assumes that in

a series of numbers which are to be rounded off, there will be approximately the same number of times that

you would have to round-off _________________ to the nearest even number as you would have to round-

off ___________________________.





3. DECIMALS AND ROUNDING (NOT SIG FIGS)



4. SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

In chemistry, we frequently have to deal with very ______________ or very ______________ numbers. For

example, one mole of any substance contains approximately

602 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 particles

of that substance. If we consider a substance such as gold, one atom of gold will weigh

0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 327 grams

Numbers such as these are _______________________ to ______________and are even more difficult to

work with, especially in calculations where the number may have to be used a few times. To simplify working

with these numbers, we use what is known as __________________________ ______________________.

In scientific notation we make the assumption that a number such as: 25 000 000

AND can be written as the ___________________ of two numbers: 2.5 and 10 000 000

To further simplify this expression, the number 10 000 000 can be written in _________________________

_______________. Thus, this number, in scientific notation becomes:

25 000 000 = ________________________________

In proper scientific notation form, the significant figures are written so that the __________________ is

located ________________________________________________________________ (counting from left to

right). The power of ten is the indicator of how many __________________ the decimal point had to be

moved to place it between the first two significant figures.

In the first number, the number of particles in a mole, given above, in order to place the decimal point

between the first ____________ significant figures (the 6 and the 0) the decimal point must be moved

__________________________ spaces from the _________________ to the _______________. The number

of spaces the decimal point is moved will be expressed as a ____________________________________. In

proper scientific notation form, the number of particles in a mole is: ___________________________

particles.



In the second number, the number of grams in one atom of gold, the decimal point must be moved

_____________________ spaces form the left to the right. The number of spaces the decimal point was

moved will be expressed as a ______________________________________. The weight of one atom of gold,

expressed in scientific notation: ____________________________ gram.

As you can observe, these two numbers are easier to manage in scientific notation.

Some more examples of numbers written in scientific notation are:

4500 = __________________________ (decimal point moved 3 spaces to the left)

305 000 = ___________________________ (decimal point moved 5 spaces to the left)

0.00250 = ________________________________ (decimal point moved 3 spaces to the right)

Remember, if the decimal point was moved from the _________________________________________ in

order to place it between the first ______________ significant figures, the _______________________ will

be __________________. If the decimal point had to be moved from the ___________________________

____________________, the ________________________ will be _________________________.

Another advantage of scientific notation is that _________________________________________________,

all placeholders are contained in the _____________________________. This eliminates _______________

which are _________________________.

For example, if the number 23985 is rounded off to three significant figures, the result would be 24000. Only

the zero following the 4 should be significant, the other zeros are place holders. It is not apparent from looking

at the number that one of the zeros is significant while the others are not. In scientific notation, this number

would be written as 2.40 x 104

Thus, the significant _______________ is _______________________ but the placeholders are ___________.



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Scientific Literacy & the Scientific Method...Scientific Literacy Grade 10 Science Glenlawn Collegiate – Ms. W 2 | P a g e N o t e s Another aspect to being science literate is to