Scientific Thinking

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Scientific Thinking
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• Suggestions to do well in this class
• Attend every lab session.
• Give your undivided attention.
• Ask the TA to repeat himself.
• Review the power-point presentations before
• the quiz.
• Hand your assignment in due time.
• Do your best with the lab. reports

3

• How to
• Access your web-pagerun youhanna sawires on
  Yahoo
• search engine then book-mark the URL
• View your PowerPoint presentationsfirst you have
  
• to have PowerPoint program installed on your
  computer.
• If you do not, you may install it from
  MS-office suite.
• If you do not have office,you may download and
  install
• Open Office suite. If you done with that, just
  double click
• the link
• Prepare to the up-coming lab. read the lab
  manual
• (or review the PowerPoint presentation on my
• web-page).
• Make up a missed labit is preferred not to miss
  any
• lab. session. However, if it happens, attend
  my second
• session or contact Kaye Jay in the same day.

4

• Announcement
• You have to get your student ID number by next
• week. There is a link through the student
  link.
• There is a quiz next week
• The home assignment is accessible through my web
  
• page and it is due in class next week.
• Next week lab. is Macromolecules
• Preceptor program..3 units class.
• Needs
  commitment
• Chance to
  develop teaching skills

5

• Today lab.
• Scientific thinking
• Biology and scientific thinking
• How to use scientific thinking to solve these
• problems (games)

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• Science is basically common sense
• It is not separate from everyday experience
• - Isaac Newtin and the apple
• - the light bulb issues
• Biology is the science of living things

Sir Isaac Newton
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• Scientific thinking
• Observe
• Question
• Hypothesize
• Predict
• Experiment
• Refine
• Replicate

8

• Let us get acquainted with some lab. techniques
• -detecting the process of photosynthesis by the
  elaborated oxygen
• . All land or water plants perform the process of
  photosynthesis.
• . It is by which the plant get synthesize its
  nutrients.
• . The plant utilize water and atmospheric co2 to
  synthesize
• carbohydrates. In addition it releases oxygen
  as by product.
• . Released oxygen get trapped in the plant
  tissue and cause it to
• float when it is put in water.
• . We will verify the occurrence of the process in
  spinach leaves and
• develop some skills in doing the protocol.

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.You need 5 discs per beaker. A few may not be
good to use so cut 8 per beaker. .Cut out
discs using the punch provided (Do not keep the
spinach leaves outsidethey wilt and then
cannot be cut) .Put the discs immediately into a
Petri dish with bicarb. .When all the discs have
been cut..then transfer them all into a syringe
with bicarb in it. Do not damage the discs.
Use a spatula provided to transfer the
discs. .Now insert the plunger and point the
syringe skyward and push out all the air. .Put
your finger over the syringe tip and pull back on
the plunger to create a vacuum within the
syringe. Pull back a little at a time (approx. 1
ml ) so as not to damage the discs. .While
still under vacuum remove your finger from the
syringe tip. As the vacuum is released, the
leaf discs fill with the bicarb buffer. .Repeat
until all the discs sink in the buffer. .Pour the
discs into a Petri dish
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.Now transfer a fixed amount of discs in each
beaker (5 or 6). You may need to tap the discs
for them to sink (surface tension of the
water) .Turn on the light on the
table .Immediately now put all the beakers under
the light. .Note the time
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• ? Exercise 1
• work in groups of 4
• Apply scientific thinking method to this evolving
  
• string of numbers and predict what the next line
• would be.
• 1 5
• 1 1 1 5
• 3 1 1 5
• 1 3 2 1 1 5

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• ? Exercise 2
• work in groups of 4
• try to answer the question , how can you
  recognize
• living from non living ?
• -follow the steps of scientific thinking and come
  up
• with a set of features (criteria) that help to
  to judge
• the creatures that I will show you on the
  projector.

13

• ? Exercise 3
• Where the mass of the tree come from
• Work in groups of 4
• Hypothesize a theory or explanation and try
• to prove or disprove it.
• -we will supply soil, seeds, planting pots, etc..
• -The plant should be followed up to two to
• three weeks