Nature of Science

1
Nature of Science

• How does science happen?
• Science investigates
• Plans experiments
• Observes
• Test Results

2
Science

• Science has many branches
• Social Science
• Natural Science
• Natural science tries to understand nature and
  the whole universe.

3
Science

• Natural science is divided into three branches
• Life Science
• Physical Science
• Earth Science

4
Life Science

• Life science is biology.
• Botany- science of plants
• Zoology- science of animals
• Ecology- science of nature

5
Physical Science

• Physical science has two branches, chemistry and
  physics.
• Chemistry is the study of matter.
• Physics is the study of forces and energy.

6
Earth Science

• Earth science branches include geology and
  meteorology.
• Geology is the physical nature and history of
  earth.
• Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and
  weather.

7
Science

• Pure science is the continuing search for
  scientific knowledge.
• Technology is the application of science.

8
Theories

• Scientific theories are explanations that have
  been tested by repeated observations.
• Theories are always being questioned and examined.

9
Theories

• To be valid a theory must
• Make observations simple and clear
• Must be repeatable
• Must be able to predict.

10
Law

• A scientific law states a repeated observation
  about nature.
• Scientific models represent an object or event
  that can be studied to understand the real object.

11
Scientific Method

• Scientific Method- series of logical steps to
  follow in order to solve problems.
• 1.Observation 4.Collect Data
• 2. Form Hypothesis 5. Conclusion
• 3. Experiment 6. Report

12
Experiments

• Every experiment has two parts
• Variable and Control
• Variable- anything that can change in an
  experiment.
• Control- stays the same

13
Tools

• Light Microscope
• Telescope
• Radio telescope
• Spectrophotometer
• Particle accelerator

14
Units of Measurements

• Scientists use SI units based on metric system.
• Length (m) Current (A)
• Mass (kg) Substance (mol)
• Time (s) Temp. (K)

15
Units

• Derived units are combinations of the base units.
  These include area, volume, pressure, weight,
  force, and speed.
• SI units are used for consistency and very large
  and small measurements.

16
Prefixes

• Prefixes for large numbers
• Kilo, mega, giga
• Prefixes for small numbers
• Deci (tenth)
• Centi (hundreth)
• Milli (thousandth)

17
Measurements

• There are different types of measurements
• Length- straight line b/t two points.
• Mass- quantity of matter in an object
• Volume- measure of space
• Weight- force of gravity on matter

18
Data

• There are a variety of ways to organize data
• Tables
• Figures
• Graphs
• Scientific Notation
• Significant Figures

19
Graphs

• Line graphs- best for continuous change.
• Bar graphs- compare items
• Pie Charts- show the parts of a whole.

20
Scientific Notation

• Scientific notation is a value written as a
  simple number multiplied by a power of 10.
• Ex. 4.5 x 103

21
Scientific Notation

• A shortcut involves moving the decimal point and
  counting the number of places it is moved.
• If you move the decimal to the right.the power
  of 10 is negative.
• If you move to the leftthe power of 10 is
  positive.

22
Significant Figures

• Significant figures are the digits in a
  measurement that are known with certainty.
• Ex. The measurement 1.6 has two significant
  figures.

23
Accuracy vs. Precision

• Accuracy- the extent to which a measurement
  approaches the true value.
• Precision- the degree of exactness of a
  measurement.