Life Science Chapter 1 Section 1

Work of Science What makes popcorn pop? How do microwaves work? How do microwaves make things hot? By asking question scientists find out information about things in the world and universe

Types of Science Physics Life Science Energy and Matter Animals, plants, and other living things

Critical Thinking You don’t have to be a trained scientist to be able to solve problems in your life What type of problems do you solve every day? Example: You go to turn your CD player on and it doesn’t work. What do you do now?

Scientific Method Steps State the Problem Gather Information Form a Hypothesis Perform an Experiment or Test the Hypothesis Analyze the Data Draw Conclusions Then the hypothesis is either supported or not supported

State the Problem State what the problem is that you want to research and experiment In the book the vet tech wanted to find out whether different types of cat litter can cause an irritation to cat’s skin. To test this problem she would have initially tried out 2 or 3 different litters to see if any of them irritated the cat’s skin If irritation occurs then there is a problem to test!

Gather Information Observations and experiments are ways to gather information. Fieldwork which is observations or experiments done outside the lab – observations in nature. How else would you research and gather information? Online Search engines Google scholar Reputable Books

Form a Hypothesis Once you have stated the problem and have gathered your necessary information you can form a hypothesis. Hypothesis: Explanation that can be tested The Vet Tech hypothesizes that something in the cat litter is irritating the cat’s skin.

Test the Hypothesis How do we test a hypothesis? Do an experiment The hypothesis is tested using controlled conditions If doing an experiment using animals make sure to get the appropriate approval

Test the Hypothesis Control Variable Standard to which the outcome of a test is compared Variable Something in an experiment that can change An experiment should have ONLY 1 variable. Besides the difference in the cat litter the cats should be treated the same

Analyze Data During the experiment you should be recording some form of data. Ex. The height of the plants How often a cat scratches Record the data in a journal Use Excel to input your data and see your results

Draw Conclusions The answer to the problem that you stated based upon observation and data Is the hypothesis accepted or rejected? If you reject the hypothesis then new experiments are most likely going to be necessary The Vet Tech accepts her hypothesis but does not repeat the experiment due to ethical reasons

Report Results Share the information with the public Write a paper and have it published Write a story for the local newspaper The Vet Tech let her client know that the cat litter with deodorant caused the cats to scratch and lose their hair Make sure to explain any changes you would make if you did the experiment again!

Theories Theory: Explanation of things or events based on scientific knowledge Result of many observations and experiments NOT a guess or an opinion The experiment has to have been tested more than once The experiment should be repeatable If the results are always the same then it can be proposed to become a theory Years later theories can be disproved with new technology and findings

Laws Law: Can be modified as new information becomes known Statement about how things work in nature that seems to be true all the time. Can be modified as new information becomes known Less likely to change than a theory Explain what till happen under certain conditions but do not necessarily explain why it happened There are a lot of hypothesis, few theories, and even fewer laws

Scientific Units We use SI units as the standard system of measurement in science Look at Table 1 Distance = Meter Mass = Kilogram Time = Second

Applying Science Read the applying science article on page 11 Answer the solving the problem questions after you have read Turn the answers to the questions into me