1. SCIENCE
Intuition leads to the flat Earth society and bloodletting; experiments lead men to the moon and microsurgery.
- Seth Mnookin

2. SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING
Science assumes that the world is knowable.
Science seeks to…
Search for testable evidence.
Form hypotheses and theories.
Hypothesis: Prediction based on prior knowledge and observation.
Theory: Broad explanation based on many experiments and high amounts of data.
Find additional evidence to strengthen or disprove current theories.

3. SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING
Scientists never work alone; they always collaborate as part of the process.
They check each other for errors.
Divide up a problem and work on it in groups.

4. Scientific Design Reproducibility Controlled Studies
Experiments must be designed and recorded such that they can be exactly reproduced by other researchers.
Controlled Studies
Comparisons are made between experimental and control populations.

5. Scientific Fraud
There are many examples of published studies or report that have been later found incorrect, misleading, or fraudulent.
These are always detected, eventually due to the scientific method and peer review.
The net effect is loss of time, resources, and public mistrust.
Significant recent examples:
MMR Vaccine / Autism study
Speed of Himalayan glacier melting
Human stem cell cloning study

9. Scientific Method

10. Scientific Method Observation
Information gathered by sight, sound, smell, or touch.
Example: Mussels are disappearing from a nearby river, which is being polluted.

11. Scientific Method Hypothesis Prediction
A testable explanation for an observation.
A hypothesis can be proven wrong, but never proven true.
Ex: Fertilizer from a nearby golf course is washing into the river and killing the mussels.
Prediction
What will happen if the hypothesis is correct?
Ex: Mussels will die when exposed to the fertilizer.

12. Scientific Method Experiment
Test hypothesis under controlled conditions.
Variables: Things that change during an experiment
Independent variable: the one thing that you purposely change in an experiment
Ex: Presence of fertilizer
Dependent variable: the thing that will be change in response to the independent variable.
Ex: Number of mussels
Experimental Group: Receives the variable
Ex: Mussels exposed to fertilizer
Control Group: Does not receive the variable. Used for comparison
Ex: Mussels in clean water

13. Scientific Method Observations
Qualitative observations: observations that you can make using your five senses.
Ex) the plant is green, my shirt is red
Quantitative observations: observations that deal with measurements such as length volume or mass
Ex) 20 mussels were in the river
Analyze and conclude: the data and observations must be analyzed. Look for common trends and patterns. Conclude by accepting or rejecting your hypothesis.

14. Law vs. Theory
Theory: a thoroughly tested model that explains why experiments give certain results
Law: a concise statement that summarizes the results of a broad variety of observations
Law of gravity would say that objects fall to earth while the theory of gravity would explain why.