1. 9-12-14 Warm-up Make some inferences about this picture:
What is happening/will happen?
How is this person feeling?
What observations
did you base your
inferences on?

2. The Nature of Science Objectives: Define what science is
Understand different types of observations
Compare and Contrast between a Law, Theory, and Prediction (Hypothesis)

3. What is Science?
A method of asking questions to gain knowledge about the natural world.

4. Ever changing as we get more evidence
Science is Tentative
Ever changing as we get more evidence

5. Types of Scientific Information
What is an Observation?
factual data that you or someone else can see, feel, hear, smell, taste or measure.
Data is concrete and absolute!!! FACT

6. Two Categories of Observations
Indirect Observations: Someone tells you about it
Direct Observations: Sensory / First hand. You see it for yourself

7. Two types of Data / Observations
Quantitative: Deals with numbers. Is measurable and specific.

8. Two types of Data / Observations
Qualitative: Deals with words. Properties, descriptions, interpretations

9. Law
Law: is a tested observation that is replicated without exception. A statement describing a natural event of phenomenon.
A Law tells you what will happen.

10. Theory Theory: is the tested outcome of a prediction.
It tells you “Why” something happened.

11. Prediction (Hypothesis)
Prediction: a proposed solution to a scientific problem based on gathered information

12. Occam’s Razor In science, the simplest solution is probably correct
The fewer the number of steps, the better.
The fewer the gaps, the better.
Items without supernatural influences or bias are best.