-
Agree or Disagree?When cows fall asleep standing up, it is easy
(and fun!) to sneak up next to them and tip them over.Birds eating
rice thrown at weddings swell up and die (even burst).Animals
exposed to radioactive waste mutate and turn into other types of
animals.
-
Agree or Disagree?Earthworms come up onto the sidewalks after
heavy rain to avoid being drowned in their underground
tunnels.People licking toads have hallucinations.Lennon wrote
better music than Tchaikovsky.Heaven is not in our solar system,
but it is somewhere in the universe.
-
Science involvesUsing and extending the sensesObserving and
collectingProbing and testingDeductive hypothesis testing Inductive
search for patternsBuilding increasingly accurate explanations
based on evidence
-
Mendeleev and the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements
-
Fleming and the serendipitous discovery of the first
antibiotic
-
Goodall and the willingness to break with convention
-
The Scientific MethodThere is simply no fixed set of steps that
scientists always follow, no one path that leads them unerringly to
scientific knowledge.
-
The Scientific Method
Question or Problem 2) HypothesizePredict Consequences 4)
Experiment5) Interpret Experimental Results
-
ExperimentsAn experiment is a test used to determine if there is
evidence to support a hypothesis
-
What is a hypothesis?A hypothesis is a guess or prediction about
a phenomenon.Hypotheses can be stated as positive or negative.The
null hypothesis predicts that there will be NO difference between
experimental groups.
-
Write your own hypothesisWrite your prediction for the outcome
of the radish seed experimentYou should also provide a REASONwhy do
you think the experiment will turn out the way it will?
-
What is a theory?A theory is an explanation that has a very
large amount of evidence to support it.A fact is an observation
about nature. A theory is an explanation. So a theory can never
become a fact.
-
Experiment TitlesUsually, experiments are titled in a format
like this: The Effect of _______ on _________Sample title: The
Effect of Light on Growth of Radish seeds
-
Experimental variablesThe ONE factor that you cause to be
different between experimental groups is the MANIPULATED variable
(also called INDEPENDENT variable).Sample: In the radish seed
experiment, the manipulated variable isAmount of Light
-
Experimental variablesThe factor that you measure as the outcome
of the experiment is called the RESPONDING variable (also called
DEPENDENT variable)In the radish seed experiment, the responding
variable is ___________.The responding variable is LENGTH of STEM,
measured in millimeters.
-
ConstantsAll other factors in the experiment must be controlled
so they are the same for all groups.Examples of constants in radish
seed experiment:Type of Petri dishtype of seedNumber of seedpaper
towelWater, Locationtemperature
-
Measure the responding variableDraw a data table for recording
radish plant sizesDateLightDark
-
Writing an experiment descriptionTitleHypothesisShort
description of procedureIdentify control and experimental
groups.Name the manipulated, responding variablesIdentify five
constants
-
MeasurementsObtain a flexible plastic ruler and measure the
length of the radish seeds today in millimeters.Record your data
and your partners data in the data table.
-
Fact, Hypothesis, Law, TheoryFact = a stated
observationHypothesis = a proposition that may be investigatedLaw
or Principle = a description of observable phenomenaTheory = an
explanation based on extensive evidence
-
Big QuestionsWhat is LIFE?How can we tell things that are alive
from things that were alive or were never alive?
-
OBSERVING LIFE and NONLIFEWe now need to practice making
observations of things and determining if they are alive, once
alive, or never alive.This activity will allow you to practice
writing CAREFUL and THOROUGH descriptions of what you see.
-
Life or Nonlife?Watch the short video clip of the Rover Spirit
which is explored the planet Mars.
-
Life or Nonlife?Imagine that you have two soil samples returned
from somewhere on Earth. Your job is to examine them, write a
complete description of the objects you see, and determine whether
objects are ALIVE, ONCE ALIVE or NEVER ALIVE
-
Observing soil samplesI will place soil samples on your desk:
today you will examine soil from a DESERT.Observe a part of each
sample in a half Petri dishUse a microscope and a magnifying
glass.
-
Observing soil samplesEach person should write careful
descriptions of soil samplesUse as many adjectives as you
canDescribe size, shape, color of particlesExplain WHY you think
each object you see is alive, once alive or never alive
-
Observing soil samplesYou will be able to add to your
observations tomorrow.TODAY< before you leave, please add clean
spring water (with no chlorine) to the DESERT SOIL only.Add water
until the cup is half full.Water sometimes activates dormant living
things.
-
Soil samples: Day Two
Observe forest soil and desert soil again, adding to your
descriptions of the objects you see in the soil. Make small
drawings of any objects you see in the soil.Make note of any
changes you see in the samples today.(Use a pipette to add a few
drops of desert water to the Petri dish, so you can look at it
under the microscopeThen you will turn in your written observations
on Friday.
-
Observing plant growth:Take bean and pea seeds and put them in
containers of soil under our light source. Water them consistently.
Each day in class, take note of any changes that you observe.
-
The Borderlands of ScienceShermer, (2001)Normal ScienceEmpirical
claimsVast body of evidenceBorderland ScienceEmpirical workGrowing
body of evidencePseudoscienceFake science disguised as normal
scienceLacks evidence
-
10 different areas of inquiry:AcupunctureAstrologyBig BangBig
FootChiropractic
HeliocentrismHypnosisNeurophysiology of Brain FunctionPunctuated
EquilibriumSearch for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
-
The Borderlands of ScienceShermer, (2001)Heliocentrism,
.9Neurophysiology of Brain Function, .8Punctuated equilibrium, .7
normal scienceSETI, Hypnosis, .5Chiropractic, .4 borderland
scienceAcupuncture, .3Astrology, Big Foot, .1 pseudoscience