Transcript Next week - University of Arizona

Review Last Week
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What makes a good hypothesis?
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Water properties
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Alcohols
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Propanol+water  add salt
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How?
Why?
Lab 2: Problem
solving
or why Chymistry outlasted Magick*
*in most places
Goals for today
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Observe yourself in action: you are already a practitioner of
scientific approaches
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Observe yourself in action: want to get better at anything? Practice
& analyze
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Observe others in action: another grand way to improve
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Definitions
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“Science is the human endeavor to achieve a better understanding
of the world by observation, comparison, experiment, analysis,
synthesis, and conceptualization”
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“Science is a body of facts (‘knowledge’) and the concepts that
permit explaining these facts.”
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Both from Ernst Mayr, What makes biology unique p. 140 (Kindle version)
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You already do this
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You stumble out of your room at 4 a.m. and turn on a lamp
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Nothing happens
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Now what? Curse the darkness?
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Notes to self: What elements are you employing? What’s your
process?*
*Your notes today will be your material for a graded exercise at day’s end
Take a blank sheet of paper out to start
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Gonna Science you up
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“The light’s not turning on!” = observation
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‘Possible explanations,’ statement = hypothesis/models
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“If I ______, it should _____” = prediction
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Execution of prediction = test
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“Gotta catch ‘em all”: goal is to whittle away possibilities until only
one is left standing
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If only looking at one, challenge it to fail
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Read, Observe, Consider: Become curious
think about causality
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(hypothesis)
Create/Embrace functional explanation (model)
Predict: IF (model true) THEN after X, Y will result
Execute test(s): Experiment!
Gain confidence
Do
results
make
sense?
Repeat
Reject/modify model
Ways of knowing
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Empirical--you saw it, touched it, etc.
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Reasoned argument from documented/identified assumptions &
previous knowledge
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Repeatedly established by others that you ‘trust’
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‘Intuition’ arises from experience & mental participation
• Never: assertions by authority regardless of the nature (or
volume) of that authority. No, really--never!
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Stuff you can figure out:
Thinking with your nose
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Give each paper towel a test--with your nose
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What do you notice? (observe)
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What does the fact of smelling tell you…
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about what your body does? (model)
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about involvement of molecules? (model)
What does smelling different things tell you? (model)
C10H14O
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The formula for both smells.
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How can you make sense of this information and the
observations of your nose?
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How can you model this information?
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This is the structural drawing for both smells. What can you
conclude?
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See ‘Duo_Comparator’ in Bio181L_Go
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PatternMaster
A quest for the rules that order a system
Rule Quest
Given 1-step clockwise*, it could be...
•Perimeter to top inner color
•Top inner color to lower left color
•Lower right color to lower left color
*NEIGHBOR definitions are clockwise, counterclockwise
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Take a look
Bio181L_Go => PatternMaster for Fun
Enter a random #
Select ‘Demo’
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Make observations
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Walk around the room. Look at everybody else’s screen
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Get a ‘feel’ for what’s standard. This is practice for solving medium
& hard puzzles: Figuring out the ‘background’ so you can detect
the ‘foreground’--the hints that something is noteworthy
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Return to your prep notes for end-of-class assignment:
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observe/record your process, approaches, successes
Polya
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Lab Manual, Appendix G
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George Polya enumerated a general strategy based on teaching
& contemplation for many years
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It’s not rules, it’s ideas
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P’Master, written
part
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Description clearly explains underlying rule
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supplemented with examples
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sufficient to guide someone who doesn’t know the game
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If proposed solution is wrong or incomprehensible, points taken
OFF & max possible score 45 no matter what
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Easy => 95; Medium => 100; Hard => 105 (if perfect write-up)
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Ordering the world
What’s with these liquids?
Two sets of liquids
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“Actors” [A & B] and “Indicators” (numbered)
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These are yours to investigate. How much can you figure out?
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What experiments will you perform to gain insight?
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As you make observations, can you model the world?
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Suggestion: finding an organized way to record your data is
probably a Good Idea ;)
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Find similarities or differences between Actors or Indicators, todays
work should involve SECOND ORDER experiments!!
What’s a rubric?
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It’s a treasure map--to POINTS.
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Find on the calendar for this week
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Grade will reflect quality of your approach and summary as well as
completeness of your findings and justifications
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All reasonable observations made, all possible hypotheses
made, all predictions made, all tests conducted and all possible
conclusions drawn
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Claims about pH, protons or other things not tested in the lab
cannot be made
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Learning from
yourself
Three tips from you to
you
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Strategies, approaches, insights you observed, employed,
discovered today
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For each
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state the rule, approach, etc.
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explain the context in which it arose
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state a circumstance where it could apply in your future
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Quantum Mine
Modeling information
Rules of the Mine
or...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Box_(game)
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Solve one as a group
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No mouse clicking until the group understands, supports the
proposal
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Hypothesis proposer ≠ prediction maker ≠ result analyzer
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This is a bonus problem; it can earn up to 4 points added to
your PMaster score
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Homework
Quantum Mine: Bonus credit
Pattern Master: Solution & (written)
description
Assessor: the Logic of Disproof
•Next week: write-up of today’s work (see rubric)
•Bring personal computers next week – one per
group is sufficient