Agree or Disagree?

1
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.

2
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.

3
(No Transcript)
4
Science involves

• Using and extending the senses
• Observing and collecting
• Probing and testing
• Deductive hypothesis testing
• Inductive search for patterns
• Building increasingly accurate explanations based
  on evidence

5
Mendeleev and the Periodic Table of Chemical
Elements
6
Fleming and the serendipitous discovery of the
first antibiotic
7
Goodall and the willingness to break with
convention
8
The Scientific Method

• There is simply no fixed set of steps that
  scientists always follow, no one path that leads
  them unerringly to scientific knowledge.

9
The Scientific Method

• Question or Problem 2) Hypothesize
• Predict Consequences 4) Experiment
• 5) Interpret Experimental Results

10
Experiments

• An experiment is a test used to determine if
  there is evidence to support a hypothesis

11
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.

12
Write your own hypothesis

• Write your prediction for the outcome of the
  radish seed experiment
• You should also provide a REASONwhy do you think
  the experiment will turn out the way it will?

13
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.

14
Experiment Titles

• Usually, experiments are titled in a format like
  this
• The Effect of _______ on _________

• Sample title The Effect of Light on Growth of
  Radish seeds

15
Experimental variables

• The 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

16
Experimental variables

• The 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.

17
Constants

• All 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 dish type of seed
• Number of seed paper towel
• Water, Location temperature

18
Measure the responding variable

• Draw a data table for recording radish plant sizes

Dark
Date
Light
19
Writing an experiment description

• Title
• Hypothesis
• Short description of procedure
• Identify control and experimental groups.
• Name the manipulated, responding variables
• Identify five constants

20
Measurements

• Obtain 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.

21
Fact, Hypothesis, Law, Theory

• Fact a stated observation
• Hypothesis a proposition that may be
  investigated
• Law or Principle a description of observable
  phenomena
• Theory an explanation based on extensive
  evidence

22
Big Questions

• What is LIFE?

• How can we tell things that are alive from things
  that were alive or were never alive?

23
OBSERVING LIFE and NONLIFE

• We 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.

24
Life or Nonlife?

• Watch the short video clip of the Rover Spirit
  which is explored the planet Mars.

25
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

26
Observing soil samples

• I 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
  dish
• Use a microscope and a magnifying glass.

27
Observing soil samples

• Each person should write careful descriptions of
  soil samples
• Use as many adjectives as you can
• Describe size, shape, color of particles
• Explain WHY you think each object you see is
  alive, once alive or never alive

28
Observing soil samples

• You will be able to add to your observations
  tomorrow.
• TODAYlt 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.

29
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 microscope
• Then you will turn in your written observations
  on Friday.

30
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.

31
The Borderlands of ScienceShermer, (2001)

• Normal Science
• Empirical claims
• Vast body of evidence
• Borderland Science
• Empirical work
• Growing body of evidence
• Pseudoscience
• Fake science disguised as normal science
• Lacks evidence

32
10 different areas of inquiry

• Acupuncture
• Astrology
• Big Bang
• Big Foot
• Chiropractic

• Heliocentrism
• Hypnosis
• Neurophysiology of Brain Function
• Punctuated Equilibrium
• Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

33
The Borderlands of ScienceShermer, (2001)

• Heliocentrism, .9
• Neurophysiology of Brain Function, .8
• Punctuated equilibrium, .7 normal science
• SETI, Hypnosis, .5
• Chiropractic, .4 borderland science
• Acupuncture, .3
• Astrology, Big Foot, .1 pseudoscience