1. The Nature of Science and
Technology
Chapter 1: What is Science?
2. Section 1: Thinking Like a
Scientist
⢠Key concepts
â What skills do
scientist use to
learn about the
world?
â What attitudes are
important in
science?
3. Skills that Scientists Use
⢠Scientists use skills such as
observing, inferring, predicting,
classifying, and making models to
learn more about the world.
4. Skill: Observing
⢠Using one or more
of your senses to
gather information
⢠Senses
â
â
â
â
â
Sight
Hearing
Touch
Taste
Smell
5. Types of Observations
⢠Quantitative
â Deal with a number,
or amount
â Examples of
Quantitative
Observations areâŚ
⢠Qualitative
â Deal with
descriptions that
cannot be
expressed in
number.
â Examples of
Qualitative
Observations are âŚ
6. Skill: Inferring
⢠When you explain
or interpret things
you observe
⢠Based on things you
already have
knowledge about
⢠What can you infer
about the frog?
7. Skill: Predicting
⢠Guessing what can
happen in the
future
⢠Based on past
experience or
evidence
⢠Examples of
prediction areâŚ
9. Skill: Making Models
⢠Creating
representations of
complex objects or
processes
⢠Help with
understanding
things that are
complex
⢠Examples of models
areâŚ
10. Scientific Attitudes
⢠Successful scientists possess certain
important attitudes, or habits of
mind, including curiosity, honesty,
open-mindedness, skepticism, and
creativity.
11. Key Concepts
⢠What skills do scientist use to learn
about the world?
⢠What attitudes are important in
science?
12. Section 2: Scientific Inquiry
⢠Key Concepts:
â What is scientific
inquiry?
â What makes a
hypothesis
testable?
â How do scientific
theories differ
from science laws?
13. What is Scientific Inquiry?
⢠Refers to the diverse ways in which
scientists study the natural worlds
and propose explanations based on
the evidence they gather
⢠Process of Discovery
14. Posing Questions
⢠Begins with a problem or question
about an observation
⢠Questions come from experiences
(from observations and inferences)
⢠Curiosity
⢠1st step in inquiry
15. Developing a Hypothesis
⢠A possible
explanation for a
set of observations
or answer to a
scientific question
⢠Not a fact
⢠One possible way to
explain a group of
observations
⢠MUST be testable
⢠Researchers can
carry out
investigations and
gather evidence
⢠Evidence will
support or disprove
the hypothesis
⢠Trials
16. Designing an Experiment
⢠After you make a hypothesis
⢠An experiment is designed to test it
⢠Experiment elements
â Variables (factors that can change in an
experiment, must be exactly the same)
⢠Independent
⢠Dependent
â Controlled
21. Collecting and Interpreting
Data
⢠Tables
⢠Data are the facts,
figures, and other
evidence gathered
through
observations
⢠Graphing Data
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
East
West
North
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Qtr Qtr Qtr Qtr
22. Drawing Conclusions
⢠Gather and interpret
data
⢠Make conclusions
about hypothesis
⢠Summary of what you
learned from an
experiment
⢠Support or disprove
your hypothesis
24. Scientific Theories and Laws
⢠Theories
â Well-tested
explanation for a
wide range of
observations or
experimental
results
⢠Laws
â Statement that
describes what
scientists expect to
happen every time
under a particular
set of conditions