WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Science is a continuous stream of ideas that are

constantly being reshaped, added to, subtracted from

and built upon

Science is a continually changing field that began as early as 40,000 B.C.

Science is always evolving Science is and has always been about predictability

WHAT IS SCIENCE

Anyone can think like a Scientist, if you can… Be curious – look around and ask

questions about things Be skeptical – don’t always believe

the first thing you hear Be flexible – even after you’ve found

one explanation, keep lookingThese three things add up to what is called Critical Thinking

WHAT IS SCIENCE

STEP ONE Observation – careful watching of

something around us, in the environment, in animals or in ourselves, in an objective way using standard units and equipment so that someone else using the same units or equipment could measure the same things and get the same results

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

STEP TWO Hypothesis – an educated guess

explaining what you are observing or how to change what you are observing If you observed that a house plant grew faster after you gave it some plant food, your hypothesis could be “Plant food stimulates house plants to grow”

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

STEP THREE Experiment – involves testing your

hypothesis by designing and carrying out an experiment

Requires using experimental and control groups

Involves determining what measurements, or data, you will take to compare the two groups

Measurements should be repeatable by someone else as well as relevant as a predictor

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

STEP FOUR Conclusion – judgment made on the

basis of your experiment as to whether your hypothesis is right or wrong Can fall into two categories:

Correlation – two things that tend to happen together

Cause-Effect – one thing or event actually causes the other to happen

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Throughout evolution, it has always benefited animals to be able to predict things around them If a deer smells a wolf, it can predict

danger and run the other way If a squirrel feels the temperature

drop, it can predict winter is coming and prepare to hibernate

WHY BOTHER?

Science is just a way of making predictions Taking medicine X will clear up

symptom Z Wearing a seat belt will prevent you

from flying through the window in a car accident

Depletion of the earth’s ozone layer may increase the risk of skin cancer

Predictions like these allow us to make decisions about the future.

SCIENCE/PREDICTIONS