Science

What does science mean to you ???

To scientists… It is a way of learning about the natural world… using a process designed to reduce the chance of being misled.

What Science Is Not Science is not just the accumulation of facts. Science does not “prove” something to be true. Science is not intended to answer “right or wrong” questions…that is for philosophy, ethics & religion. Science does not deal with supernatural or magical.

Some Definitions Hypothesis = a possible explanation for an observed phenomenon or a possible answer to a question –Must be able to generate testable deductions Theory = conceptual framework that explains a variety of observations, is supported by experimental evidence and is capable of predicting new phenomena –Not “just a guess,” as used in everyday language

The Scientific Method 1. Observation 6. Tests 5. Deductions 4. Multiple Hypotheses 3. Literature Review 2. Question 7. Tentative Conclusions 8. Peer Review

Next is an example of using the process of science to answer a question you’ve probably had to answer many times when you flick on a light switch and the light doesn’t turn on. – “Why didn’t the light turn on?” Everyone uses science. Scientists just use it consciously and follow some basic rules.

1. OBSERVATION The light doesn’t turn on

2. QUESTION Why didn’t the light turn on?

3. LITERATURE REVIEW Find out what lights require to function and what can cause them not to function.

4. MULTIPLE HYPOTHESES What are all the possible answers (hypotheses) to the question? H1: A fuse was blown H2: The lamp is unplugged H3: The light bulb is burned out You need to think of many hypotheses to avoid jumping to a conclusion

5. DEDUCTIONS (PREDICTIONS) For each hypothesis, determine what evidence (data) would be required to refute or support the hypothesis? 1) If the fuse is blown, then no appliances will work 2) If the lamp is unplugged, then the light will work when the lamp is plugged in 3) If the light bulb is burned out, then it will rattle when shaken Examples:

6. TESTS/ EXPERIMENTS Conduct tests to collect actual data Examples: 1)Turn on the other appliances 2)Make sure lamp is plugged in 3) Shake the light bulb & listen for rattle

7. TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS Compare actual results to predicted results for each hypothesis and record which hypotheses were supported and which were refuted in a report for publication. When actual results are the same as the expected results for an hypothesis, the hypothesis is supported; when actual results differ from the expected results, then the hypothesis is refuted.

7. TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS Which hypotheses were supported/refuted by the actual data? H1 refuted -Other appliances worked H2 refuted-Lamp was plugged in H3 supported-Bulb rattled when shaken Tentative Conclusion: Light bulb was burned out Test H3 again by trying a functioning light bulb in the lamp!

8. PEER REVIEW Write up report (introduction, methods, results, discussion) & submit to a scientific journal that is peer-reviewed, meaning that your methods, data, tentative conclusions will be scrutinized by scientists whose reputation is at stake if they allow your report to be published. Information is not scientific until it has been published in a peer-reviewed, scientific journal.

The Process of Science: Review of Example 1.Observation: Ex. The light doesn’t turn on 2.Question: Ex. Why didn’t the light turn on? 3.Literature Review: Ex. Read about light failures 4.Multiple Hypotheses: Ex. Light bulb burned out, etc. 5.Deductions to get Predicted Results: if the bulb is burned out and I shake the bulb, then I predict it should rattle. 6.Conduct Actual Experiments to get Actual Results: I shook the bulb and it rattled. 7.Tentative Conclusions: because the bulb rattled when shaken as predicted by the burned out bulb hypothesis, I therefore tentatively conclude that a likely explanation for the light not turning on is that the bulb is burned out. 8.Peer Review: submit report to peer-reviewed scientific journal

Science Rules of Thumb 1. Maximize Sample Size: The larger the sample size the more accurate the estimate. 2. Representative Sample: The sample must represent the variation in the population. E.g., Use random or systematic sampling to avoid biasing the data. E.g., you don’t want your sample to include only men if you are studying the effect of a medicine on people.

Science Rules of Thumb 3. Use Controlled Experiment for Causal Questions Use to answer questions concerning what caused something to happen. Two groups (control & experimental) are treated identically except for the one factor being tested

MEALWORM MYSTERY This is just for fun to test your understanding of controlled experiments A student conducted 3 experiments to determine how mealworms respond to light and moisture. All variables except light and moisture were held constant from experiment to experiment. For each experiment, 12 mealworms were placed in the center of a box and then their positions were recorded 24 hours later.

EXPERIMENT 1 QUESTION: Are mealworms attracted to light? mealworm QUESTION 2: Are mealworms affected by moisture? Answer?You can’t tell; it could be either or both

EXPERIMENT 2 QUESTION: Are mealworms affected by light? QUESTION 2: Are mealworms affected by moisture? Answers?They are affected by light; we don’t know about moisture

EXPERIMENT 3 QUESTION: Are mealworms affected by light? QUESTION 2: Are mealworms affected by moisture? Answers?With just this experiment, it seems they didn’t move

EXPERIMENT 3 QUESTION: Are mealworms affected by light? QUESTION 2: Are mealworms affected by moisture? Using the information from the other 2 experiments… Answers?Yes and Yes (despite attraction to light, they avoided wet

THE EXPERIMENTS QUESTION: Which variables affect mealworm movement based on the above experiments (note that movement may be either toward or away from something)? A. Light but not moisture. B. Moisture but not light. C. Both light and moisture. D. Neither light nor moisture. E. Can’t tell. mealworm Without the controlled experiment we would know nothing!

In conclusion, science is: a process for learning about the natural world, using a method designed to reduce the chance of being misled. what most people use unconsciously to solve everyday problems Scientists just consciously apply the process to answer questions about the world & communicate the results through peer reviewed journals