Introduction to science

•  What is science?

Science is a technique: a way of seeking

principles about the physical world.
Science tries to verify these principles
via experiments and observations.

Scientists collect data (facts) to test

these principles. Back to Science Central
The Process of Science

•  Science: from a Latin verb meaning

to know.
•  Derived from natural human curiosity.
•  Seeks natural causes for natural
phenomena

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The Process of Science

•  Two primary approaches to

scientific inquiry.

– Discovery science or inductive

reasoning.
– Hypothesis-driven or deductive
reasoning.
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Inductive reasoning
•  Works from the specific observations
to a general conclusion.

•  Example: Cell Theory based on 200

years of observations of cells in every
living specimen ever observed.

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Deductive Reasoning

•  Works from a general observation to

a specific conclusion.
•  Ex: If all organisms are made of cells
and humans are organisms, then
humans must be made of cells.

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Hypothesis Driven Science

•  Driven by deductive reasoning.

•  Guided by a hypothesis (a tentative

answer to a question) based on an
observation.

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Hypothesis Driven Science

•  Usually takes the form of a prediction,

which can be tested.

•  If testing supports hypothesis we can

accept our hypothesis, if not we look
for another explanation.

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•  Observation: Flashlight doesn t
work.
•  Question: Why not?

•  Hypothesis?
• The batteries are dead.

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•  Prediction: If this hypothesis is
correct, and I replace the batteries,
then the flashlight should work.

•  If hypothesis is not supported, revise

and pose a new one.

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The Scientific Method
1.  Observation
2.  Hypothesis
3.  Tests or experiments to obtain data
4.  Data interpretation
5.  Conclusions

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 OBSERVATION The Scientific
New observations
are made and previous Method
data observed

HYPOTHESIS
Input from various sources
used to make a testable
statement

EXPERIMENTS CONCLUSIONS
The hypothesis is tested by The results are analyzed
experiments and/or and hypothesis is either
further observations supported or rejected

SCIENTIFIC THEORY
Back to Science Central Many exper. & observations support it
The Scientific Method
•  Hypothesis : A tentative assumption
(an educated guess) to explain something
and to test it.
­ Theory:
A hypothesis that has survived
many tests (and competing
hypotheses have been disproven).
­ Law:A theory that has been tested
extensively and, based on lots of
evidence, and no data has been
found in disagreement. Back to Science Central
 Science is always a work in
progress …
•  Science evolves and is ever changing;
science is a process…

What someone learned 10 years ago

may not be accepted today…
Similarly, what is accepted today
may no longer be valid 10 years
from now…
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 The End

•  http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29486106/
Introduction-to-science