Transcript the nature of science

Text from PH Science: The Nature of Science, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 1994
Do you read the newspaper or watch the news on TV?
Perhaps you listen to the radio or read science
magazines. Maybe you surf the internet, check out
youtube videos, or visit museums. Whatever your
preference, you know that it’s hard to escape hearing
about advances in science.
Computers, CD players, microwave ovens, video games,
robotic surgery , and space exploration are all possible
through discoveries in science. Science is all around us. It
is through science, partnering with engineering that we
have developed new sources of energy – and found ways
to make traditional sources of pollution more efficient and
less polluting.
Science has given us television, modern kitchen
appliances, cures for diseases, safe and speedy
transportation, cell phones, and the internet. A list of
scientific advances that have improved our lives could
fill many books.
modern kitchen
colonial kitchen
What exactly is science? How do scientists go about
making discoveries? If you think that science is a job for
white-coated laboratory workers who never look up from
their microscopes, you are in for a surprise. This year you
will find out about the nature of the biological sciences
and the way in which scientists investigate the world of
living things. You will have an opportunity to explore and
discover a few things yourself.
What is science?
Scientists, like most people, love a mystery.
Recently, Walter P. Coombs Jr. of Western New
England College, was called upon to solve a most
interesting puzzle. Dr. Coombs is a paleontologist,
who is a dinosaur expert.
http://www.earthview.pair.com/ctriver.html
Strange scratches had been found on a rock
unearthed at Connecticut State Dinosaur Park.
http://www.sunstar-solutions.com/sunstar/geology/JuraTracks/BasalJurassic.htm
Dr. Coombs took one look at the scratches on
the exposed rocks and immediately knew what
they were – dinosaur footprints. The scratches
appeared in groups of three, leading Dr. Coombs
to conclude that the scratches were made by an
animal having three toes with sharp claws. They
were clearly the work of the meat-eating
dinosaur called megalosaurus.
http://www.t-rat.com/Pages/CretaceousSAz.html
There was something peculiar about the foot-prints.
Only the tips of the dinosaur’s toes seemed to have
touched the rocks. But megalosaurus did not run on its
toes, at least not on land.
Unusual three-toe prints
Typical three-toed dinosaur footprints
http://www.scienceviews.com/dinosaurs/swim
mingtracks.html
Ripple marks in the stone were observed near the strange
prints. The ripples indicated flowing water.
Dr. Coombs quickly realized that the prints had been
made under water, where most of the animal’s weight
would have been kept off the rocks.
From the scratches on rocks, Dr. Coombs had discovered
the first evidence of a swimming, meat-eating dinosaur.
Unearthed rocks, a sharp eye, and some smart detective
work had lead to an important scientific discovery.
This illustration shows how a dinosaur paddling along in shallow
water could kick up the muddy bottom with the tips of its toes,
concluded paleontologist Walter P. Coombs, Jr. in 1980. For track
sequences that end abruptly, the theropod may have been buoyed
up while swimming so it temporarily lost contact with the bottom.
Since 1968, the Rocky Hill site has been preserved for posterity as
Dinosaur State Park .
http://pages.jh.edu/~jhumag/696web/dinosaur.html
Science – Not Just for Scientists
You are a scientist! Does that statement
surprise you? If it does, it is probably
because you do not understand exactly
what a scientist is. But if you have ever
observed the colors formed in a drop of
oil in a puddle or watched a fire burn,
you were acting like a scientist. You are
also a scientist when you watch waves
breaking on the shore or lightning bolts
darting through the night sky.
Perhaps you have walked through
the grass in the morning and
noticed drops of dew or have
screamed with delight as you
rode a roller coaster dipping
down and up the track. You might
have wondered how you did not
fall out!
Whenever you observe the world
around you, you are acting like a
scientist.
Does that give you a clue to the
nature of science and scientists?
Scientists observe the world around them – just as you
do. For that reason, whenever you make an observation,
you are acting like a scientist.
But scientists do more than just observe. The word science
comes from the Latin word scire, which means “to know.”
So science is more than just observation. And real
scientists do more than just observe. They question what
they see. They wonder what makes things the way they
are. And they attempt to find answers to their questions.
No doubt you also wonder about and question what
you see – at least some of the time.
The universe around you and inside of you is really a
collection of mysteries. It is the job of scientists to solve
those mysteries. The goal of science is to understand
the world around us.
How do scientists go about understanding the world?
Life all good detectives, scientists use special skills to
determine the truths about the nature of their physical
and biological world. Such truths are called facts.
Fact: The sun is a source of light and heat.
But science is more than a list of facts. - just as studying
science is more than just memorizing a list of facts.
The special skills scientists use in their work are:
 asking questions (science) and defining problems
(engineering)
 developing and using models
 planning and carrying out investigations
 analyzing and interpreting data
 using mathematics and computational thinking
 constructing explanations (science) and designing
solutions (engineering)
 engaging in argument from evidence
 obtaining, evaluating, and communicating
information
Scientists go further than simply discovering facts.
Scientists try to use facts to solve larger mysteries of
nature. In this sense, you might think of facts as clues
to scientific mysteries.
An example of a
larger mystery is
how the sun
produces the heat
and light it showers
upon Earth.
Discovery Activity
What is it? Communicating like a scientist!
1. Carefully examine a natural artifact from the classroom
collection. You may use a hand lens.
2. Write down a list of characteristics you would use to
describe your object on a note card. Your list should
include size, color, texture, shape, and any other feature
you feel is important. Do not name the object. Write your
name on the bottom of the card.
3. Return your object to the demonstration table.
4. Turn in your description. Your description will be read to
the class. See if your classmates can identify your object
from your description alone.