1. Chapter 1 – General Science
What is science?
How are things studied in science?
How are things measured in science?

2. What is Science? Science – a system of methods used to find knowledge
Science begins with curiosity and often ends with discovery
Observations can be:
Qualitative (descriptive)
Quantitative (numerical)
Qualitative (how healthy the grass looks, how green it is)
Quantitative (number of plants per plot, plant sizes, and growth rates)

3. Natural Science Physical Science Earth/Space Science Life Science
Branches of Science
Natural Science
Physical Science
Earth/Space Science
Life Science

4. Physical Science Focuses on non-living things 2 main areas:
Chemistry (study of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter)
Physics (study of matter + energy and their interactions through forces and motion)

5. Earth/Space Science
Earth Science – application of physics and chemistry to the study of the Earth
Grounded in Geology (study of the origin, history, and structure of Earth)
Space Science is about astronomy (study of the universe)

6. Life Science Also known as Biology (study of living things) Includes:
Botany (plants)
Zoology (animals)
Ecology (interactions with environment)
Genetics (DNA)

7. Some Rules of Nature Matter = made up of atoms
2 characteristics of matter:
Mass (amount of matter in an object)
Volume (how much space it takes up)
Density – relationship b/w mass and volume
Mass is the same everywhere in the universe (amount of matter doesn’t change)
Weight is dependent on the force of gravity (differs depending on what planet you’re on) Weight on Planets App
Floating or sinking of an object does not depend on its weight, it depends upon its density. Things denser than water sink in water whereas things having less mass than water float over it. (Water = 1 g/ml)

8. Practicing Lab Safety Be responsible in the lab Ask questions
Keep hands away from face and mouth
Wash hands after experiments
Don’t touch anything until instructed
Ask questions
If you don’t understand directions or procedures
Follow instructions carefully
Wear protective goggles
Use chemicals & glassware properly
Never fool around in the lab

9. Practicing Lab Safety Keep work areas clean Dress properly
Long hair tied back
No loose or excessively baggy clothing
Wear protective clothing, including a lab apron
Wear shoes which cover your feet completely (no sandals, flip-flops, or open-toed shoes)
No eating in the lab

10. Scientific Method
An organized plan for gathering, organizing, and communicating info
Aims to solve a problem

11. Scientific Method – An Ongoing Process!
Scientific investigations begin with observations (info obtained through your senses)
Hypothesis – proposed to answer a question (If… then… because)
“If _______ (I do this) _________, then _________ (this)_______ will happen, because _____________(this)_________.
“If a plant receives fertilizer, then it will grow to be bigger than a plant that does not receive fertilizer because it has more nutrition.
Perform experiment to test hypothesis
Independent variable – variable that you change in an experiment (“the cause”)
Dependent variable – result of the changes made that is measured (“the effect”)
A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of the course. Half the students were offered $5 for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test; the other half were not offered money.
IV – Monetary incentive ($5 or no money)
DV – Performance on reading test
Experimental group - $5 group (receive monetary incentive)
Control group - $0 (no monetary incentive)

12. Theory vs. Law
Theory – well-tested explanation for a set of observations
Never proven, but become stronger if facts continue to support them
Theories explain things
Law – statement of fact, generally accepted to be true and universal
Describes observations without explaining them
Theory of evolution – how things came to be
Law of gravity – if I drop something, it falls to the ground

13. Scientific Models
A representation that makes things which are difficult to observe directly easier to understand
Ex. Model of a cell, map of the US, a globe

14. Scientific Notation
A shortcut in expressing a value as the product of a number between and a power of 10
300,000,000 or 3.0 x 108
or 8.6 x 10-4
Scientific notation makes a large number or very small number easier to work with
Move decimal left = positive
Move decimal right = negative

15. SI Units of Measurement
Scientists use a set of international units (SI) when measuring things
Length (straight line b/w 2 points)
Mass (quantity of matter)
Volume (amt. of space taken up by an object)
Systeme international d’unites
Length – meters (centimeters, millimeters)
Mass – grams (kilograms)
Volume – liters (milliliters)
Temp – Celsius (Kelvin)
Time – seconds

16. Limits of Measurement
Precision – how close the measured values are to each other
Accuracy – how close a measured value is to the actual (true) value

17. Scientists organize their data through tables and graphs