Hewitt/Lyons/Suchocki/Yeh
Conceptual Integrated Science
This lecture will help you understand:
A Brief History of Advances in Science
Mathematics and Conceptual Integrated Science
The Scientific Method—A Classic Tool
The Scientific Hypothesis
The Scientific Experiment
Hypotheses, Theories, and Laws
Science Has Limitations
Science and Religion
Technology—The Practical Use of Science
The Natural Sciences: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and
Earth Science
A Brief History of Advances in Science
The beginnings of science go back thousands of
years to a cause-and-effect way of looking at
A Brief History of Advances in Science
Forward steps in the history of science, as
highlighted in the text, occurred in
•
Greece – ex: Earth is round; found the
circumference.
•
Italy - Galileo
•
China – charted stars and planets
•
Polynesia
•
Arab Nation – mathematics, glass, paper, metals
•
Poland – Copernicus – Sun-centered Universe
•
Germany
A Brief History of Advances in Science
During the Dark Ages in Europe,
•
previous scientific knowledge was
lost as religion became established.
During the 10th through 12th
centuries,
•
Islamic people brought books into
Spain that had been banned by the
church
•
universities emerged
A Brief History of Advances in Science
During the 15
th
-16
th
centuries,
•
invention of Gutenberg’s printing press –
faster communication!
•
experiments of Galileo
•
arrival of Renaissance period that provided
a foothold to the advance of science and
Mathematics and Conceptual Integrated
Science
Mathematics
•
Is an important tool in science
•
equations are shorthand notation for the
relationships between scientific concepts
•
abbreviates a relationship that can be stated in
words
•
makes common sense
Mathematics and Conceptual Integrated
Science
Example:
Concept
—
When you stretch a
spring, your pull is proportional
to the stretch.
Proportion
—
expressed as
F
,
where
F
is your pulling force, and
x
is the distance the spring stretches
Proportions and equations tell you:
Scientific Method
•
as outlined in section 1.3—NOT to be
memorized
•
one of the ways good science is
performed
More important than a particular method
is
•
attitude of inquiry
•
experimentation
•
willingness to accept findings,
even those not desired
The Scientific Experiment
Rather than philosophize about nature, Galileo
went an important step further—he
experimented
!
“The test of all knowledge is experiment.
Experiment is the sole judge of scientific truth.”
Richard Feynman
“No number of experiments can prove me right;
a single experiment can prove me wrong.”
Hypothesis, Theory, and Law
Hypothesis
- a tentative
explanation, an educated guess.
For a hypothesis to be scientific,
it must be testable.
A hypothesis can be
disproved
,
Hypothesis, Theory, and Law
Theory -
a broad explanation that synthesizes
facts, observations and well-tested hypotheses to
explain certain aspects of the natural world
Theories are very well-supported by available evidence and very
widely accepted by the scientific community.
The scientific community accepts a theory that stands up to
continual testing and best explains the available evidence, and
discards a theory that is inconsistent with current information.
Hypothesis, Theory, and Law
Law -
a general
observation
or statement
about nature, such as the Law of Gravity.
does
not
explain
why
.
accepted because it has always been observed
Which of these is a scientific hypothesis?
A.
The Moon is made of green cheese.
B.
Atomic nuclei are the smallest particles in nature.
C.
A magnet will pick up a copper penny.
D.
Cosmic rays cannot penetrate the thickness of your
Conceptual
Integrated Science
textbook.
Which of these is a scientific hypothesis?
A.
The Moon is made of green cheese.
B.
Atomic nuclei are the smallest particles in nature.
C.
A magnet will pick up a copper penny.
D.
Cosmic rays cannot penetrate the thickness of your
Conceptual
Integrated Science
textbook.
Explanation
:
All are scientific hypotheses! All choices not only have
tests for proving wrongness, but they have been proved
wrong. Nevertheless, they still pass the test of being a
scientific hypothesis.
Which of these is
not
a scientific hypothesis?
A.
Protons carry an electric charge.
B.
Undetectable particles are some of nature’s secrets.
C.
Charged particles will bend when moving in a magnetic
field.
D.
All of the above are scientific hypotheses.
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley
Which of these is
not
a scientific hypothesis?
A.
Protons carry an electric charge.
B.
Undetectable particles are some of nature’s
secrets.
C.
Charged particles will bend when moving in a magnetic
field.
D.
All of the above are scientific hypotheses.
Explanation
:
If protons didn’t carry electric charge, they wouldn’t be
deflected when crossing a magnetic field. This would be
a test for showing the hypothesis wrong. So both
A
and
C
are capable of being proved wrong, which makes them
scientific. Statement
B
, however, has no test for
A person who says, “that’s only a theory” likely doesn’t know that
a scientific theory is a
A.
guess.
B.
number of facts.
C.
hypothesis of sorts.
D.
vast synthesis of well-tested hypotheses and facts.
A person who says, “that’s only a theory” likely doesn’t know that
a scientific theory is a
A.
guess.
B.
number of facts.
C.
hypothesis of sorts.
D.
vast synthesis of well-tested hypotheses and facts.
Explanation
:
Theory in everyday speech is vastly different than its use
in science. A vast and verifiable body of knowledge isn’t
only
a theory; if it passes all its tests, it is
elevated
to
that status! Newton’s theory of gravity, and Einstein’s
theory of relativity, for example, are not idle hypotheses
Science Has Limitations
Domain of science
•
is in natural phenomena
•
does not deal with the “supernatural,”
a domain “above science”
Claims to supernatural phenomenon, true or
A major difference between pseudoscience and science is that
pseudoscience
A.
makes no predictions.
B.
doesn’t use scientific
terminology.
C.
has no tests for wrongness.
D.
all of the above.
A major difference between pseudoscience and science is that
pseudoscience
A.
A. makes no predictions.
B.
doesn’t use scientific terminology.
C.
has no tests for wrongness.
D.
all of the above.
Science Has Limitations
CHECK YOUR ANSWER
Explanation
:
Science and Religion
Science deals with testable hypotheses.
Religion is based on faith – not testable!
Scientific truth is a matter of public scrutiny;
religion is a deeply personal matter.
Technology—The Practical Use of Science
Technology
•
uses scientific knowledge
•
can be helpful or harmful
•
How we use this tool
The Natural Sciences: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and
Earth Science
Physics
is the study of basic concepts such as motion,
force, energy, matter, heat, sound, light, electricity, and
magnetism.
Chemistry
builds on physics and
studies how matter is put together
to produce the growing list of
materials and medicines we use in
our everyday lives.
Biology,
built on chemistry, is the study of life—the most
complex of the sciences.
Earth science
is the study of geology, meteorology, and
Integrated Science
Integrated Science—fields of science
•
overlap
•
merge into one another, such as biophysics,
biochemistry, geophysics, astrophysics,
bioastrophysics
•
acknowledged to present a cohesive study of