Assess indispensable learning in Science in the Technical World Dr. Zisk/CCS/2011
- To be used as part of a General Science teacher’s APPR…mine.
- A satisfactorily successful student should be able to answer approximately 75% of these correctly.
- Failure could be as much my fault as it may be my student’s. Certainly, if a student does not do much of the required work, lots of it on his or her own all alone, then failure will be likely.
- Mastery means the student does much better than 75%. I’ll take a little credit for that, but most of the credit will be due to the student for extended, focused efforts.
STW is a flexible course to fulfill the 2nd Science class requirement for graduation. It has no Regents exam, but follows the MST curricula. The following list of topics is from past years’ students’ interests and practical use for a scientifically literate citizen:
1.What is science… and let’s do a little first, before special topics…
- Forensics—beyond CSI. This is an eclectic science, whose logic is broadly applicable.
- Foods, food industry, and nutrition—we eat… where is it from; how is it handled; what’s good and why?
- Nuclear Power is easy to criticize. What is the science and evidence?
- Shale gas, in the context of economics and environment—Determining the truth in scientific papers.
- Ecology as an activity in the springtime—Monitoring an ecosystem.
Below are self-evident questions I’d expect a student to be able to answer at a bare minimum… And then there are also some resources, old and new, and some other writers’ (cited) questions…
1.What is science… and let’s do a little first, before special topics…
1.1.Science is not English (but it is communication), not faith (even when we say we have “faith in science”), not art, not abstract math, not the process of carpentry itself (although a carpenter uses science), not designing a car (although the wind-tunnel testing and the hybrid drive-train are part of science)… so what is science?
1.2.Can you see why experiments with repeatable results have value in our world of angry people insisting that their way is the only way?
______
These are interesting; should spur discussion… They are from:
The systematic observation of natural events and conditions in order to discover facts about them and to formulate laws and principles based on these facts. 2. the organized body of knowledge that is derived from such observations and that can be verified or tested by further investigation. 3. any specific branch of this general body of knowledge, such as biology, physics, geology, or astronomy.
Academic Press Dictionary of Science & Technology
Fiction is about the suspension of disbelief; science is about the suspension of belief.
James Porter, UGA Ecology Professor, as quoted by Steve Holland
To do science is to search for repeated patterns, not simply to accumulate facts.
Robert H. MacArthur, Geographical Ecology
Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt.
Richard Feynman, Nobel-prize-winning physicist
The real purpose of the scientific method is to make sure Nature hasn't misled you into thinking you know something you don't actually know.
Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
We [scientists] wouldn't know truth if it jumped up and bit us in the ass. We're probably fairly good at recognizing what's false, and that's what science does on a day-to-day basis, but we can't claim to identify truth.
Dr. Steven M. Holland, University of Georgia Geology Professor
There is no philosophical high-road in science, with epistemological signposts. No, we are in a jungle and find our way by trial and error, building our roads behind us as we proceed. We do not find sign-posts at cross-roads, but our own scouts erect them, to help the rest.
Max Born (1882-1970), Nobel Prize-winning physicist,
quoted in Gerald Holton's Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought
A modern poet has characterized the personality of art and the impersonality of science as follows: Art is I; Science is We.
Claude Bernard (1813-1878), Physiologist and "the father of modern experimental medicine"
Science involves more than the gaining of knowledge. It is the systematic and organized inquiry into the natural world and its phenomena. Science is about gaining a deeper and often useful understanding of the world.
from the Multicultural History of Science page at Vanderbilt University.
Science is an intellectual activity carried on by humans that is designed to discover information about the natural world in which humans live and to discover the ways in which this information can be organized into meaningful patterns. A primary aim of science is to collect facts (data). An ultimate purpose of science is to discern the order that exists between and amongst the various facts.
Dr. Sheldon Gottlieb in a lecture series at the University of South Alabama
As a practicing scientist, I share the credo of my colleagues: I believe that a factual reality exists and that science, though often in an obtuse and erratic manner, can learn about it. Galileo was not shown the instruments of torture in an abstract debate about lunar motion. He had threatened the Church's conventional argument for social and doctrinal stability: the static world order with planets circling about a central earth, priests subordinate to the Pope and serfs to their lord. But the Church soon made its peace with Galileo's cosmology. They had no choice; the earth really does revolve around the sun.
Stephen J. Gould, The Mismeasure of Man
The fuel on which science runs is ignorance. Science is like a hungry furnace that must be fed logs from the forests of ignorance that surround us. In the process, the clearing that we call knowledge expands, but the more it expands, the longer its perimeter and the more ignorance comes into view. . . . A true scientist is bored by knowledge; it is the assault on ignorance that motivates him - the mysteries that previous discoveries have revealed. The forest is more interesting than the clearing.
Matt Ridley, 1999
Genome: the autobiography of a species in 23 chapters, p. 271.
Science consists simply of the formulation and testing of hypotheses based on observational evidence; experiments are important where applicable, but their function is merely to simplify observation by imposing controlled conditions.
Robert H. Dott, Jr., and Henry L. Batten, Evolution of the Earth (2nd edition)
Science is the most subversive thing that has ever been devised by man. It is a discipline in which the rules of the game require the undermining of that which already exists, in the sense that new knowledge always necessarily crowds out inferior antecedent knowledge. . . . . This is what the patent system is all about. We reward a man for subverting and undermining that which is already known. . . . . Man has a tendency to resist changing his mind. The history of the physical sciences is replete with episode after episode in which the discoveries of science, subversive as they were because they undermined existing knowledge, had a hard time achieving acceptability and respectability. Galileo was forced to recant; Bruno was burned at the stake; and so forth. An interesting thing about the physical sciences is that they did achieve acceptance. Certainly in the more economically advanced areas of the Western World, it has become commonplace to do everything possible to accelerate the undermining of existent knowledge about the physical world. The underdeveloped areas of the world today still live in a pre-Newtonian universe. They are still resistant to anything subversive, anything requiring change; resistant even to the ideas that would change their basic concepts of the physical world.
Philip Morris Hauser (1909-), Demographer and Census Expert,
as quoted in Theodore Berland's The Scientific Life
1.3.Can you identify the parts of an experiment?
1.4.What is involved with “design” in the science?
1.5.Here are some terms: Control group, independent variable, dependent, hypothesis, peer-review… And there are more. Can you come up with a list of crutial terms that are unique to science?
Here’s an excellent run-down of the whole process… again, for discussion.
We will break down each of the following terms—and a successful student must be able to construct an operational definition (not just a synonym) with a real-life example…
This page is from:
Hypotheses
Many learned the Scientific Method in high school. In graduate school the only difference is that there is no teacher who "holds your hand" nor is there any "step-by-step" lab manual. Rather, it's the student researcher who must formulate a hypothesis or need, design experiments and ensure proper data collection. In essence you are your own teacher and you write your own lab manual.
Recall, the Scientific Method is hypothesis-driven; one makes an educated guess to explain a cause-and-effect relationship. Experiments are conducted to test this guess and ultimately answer if the hypothesis is true or false (there is no right or wrong).
Design is different from the Scientific Method. Design is needs-driven with the goal of optimally designing something to meet some demand. For instance, you don't hypothesize about constructing artificial hearts but design and construct systems that increase a patient's quality of life. Design often leads to hypothesis-driven research. A design's performance begs questions: Why did it fail or why does it perform so well? Without educated guesses and experimental verfication, one doesnt' know.
Briefly the Scientific Method (i.e. hypothesis-driven research) involves Observation, Hypothesis, Controlled Experiment and Conclusion. More specifically:
Initial Observations:
You notice something, and wonder why it happens. You see something and wonder what causes it. You want to know how or why something works. You ask questions about what you have observed. You want to investigate. The first step is to clearly write down exactly what you have observed.
Information Gathering:
Find out about what you want to investigate. Read books, magazines or ask professionals to learn about the effect or area of study. Keep track of where you got your information from.
Title the Project:
Choose a title that describes the effect or thing you are investigating. The title should be short and summarize what the investigation will deal with.
State the Purpose of the Project
What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement.
Identify Variables:
Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about what types of things affect the system you are working with. Identifying variables is necessary before you can make a hypothesis.
Make Hypothesis:
When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other. At this point, you are ready to translate your questions into hypothesis. A hypothesis is a question which has been reworded into a form that can be tested by an experiment.
Make a list of your answers to the questions you have. This can be a list of statements describing how or why you think the observed things work. These questions must be framed in terms of the variables you have identified. There is usually one hypothesis for each question you have. You must do at least one experiment to test each hypothesis. This is a very important step.
Design Experiments to Test Your Hypothesis
Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each question. This list is called an experimental procedure or specific aims.
Perform Experiments and Record Observations
Summarize Results
Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical data, or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during experiments. It is from calculations using recorded data that tables and graphs are made. Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original hypothesis.
Draw Conclusions
Using the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to pull together what happened, and assess the experiments you did. Other things you can mention in the conclusion
If your hypothesis is not correct, what could be the answer to your question?
Summarize any difficulties or problems you had doing the experiment.
Do you need to change the procedure and repeat your experiment?
What would you do different next time?
List other things you learned
Example
For scientists and engineers, solving problems is so second nature, that we often don't realize we are performing the Scientific Method. Consider the following:
The problem: your friend's car doesn't start
The process of Observation, Hypothesis, Controlled Experiment and Conclusion would involve the following:
Initial Observations:
You don't see any oil spots on the ground. Externally the car looks fine. You don't smell any gasoline odors. However when you turn the key you hear clicking sounds but the car's engine doesn't start.
Information Gathering:
Your friend tells you he filled the car with gas. What other facts would you gather?
Identify Variables:
In addition to gasoline and spark plugs, a working car battery, fuses, an alternator are all needed to start the car's engine. If one or more of these variables fail, then the engine won't start.
Make Hypothesis:
At this point you make an educated guess. The variables you identified above must be examined one at a time (perhaps it's a dead battery AND a blown fuse).
A hypothesis is a question which has been reworded into a form that can be tested by an experiment.
Your hypothesis can be phrased like
My guess is (fill in the blank) is the reason for (fill in the blank)
Potential hypotheses for the car not starting are:
My guess is that a dead battery is the reason for the car not starting.
My guess is that a damaged alternator is the reason for the car not starting.
My guess is that the spark plugs are not firing properly is the reason for the car not starting.
My guess is that blown fuses are the reasons for the car not starting.
Design Experiments to Test Your Hypothesis
At this point, you must carefully weigh your resources and available time. Suppose your guess is the bad battery. Are you willing to spend time going to the store, paying a $100 for a battery and replace the one you suspect to be dead? If the car still didn't start, what can you absolutely conclude? Maybe the sales person sold you a defective battery and that's why the car still doesn't start.
The problem is that you don't have any preliminary data. For example, measuring battery voltages from several cars with working batteries, versus cars that don't start because of bad batteries, helps establish ground truth and perhaps some trend. You are now in a position to design additional experiments to test your hypothesis. Rather than running to the store and going through all the trouble of buying a new battery, carefully thought out experiments save time, effort and money.
You want to avoid a look-and-see approach. Remember, you want to make an educated guess - your "best" bet. Otherwise your tests are just check lists that you pseudo-randomly select. Much time, money and energy can be wasted by doing this random search!
My hypothesis, based on my initial observations and discussions with my friend (who says his car battery is only 3 months old, but he did install new powerful speakers for his car's radio the day before) is that the fuses are blown.
Perform Experiments and Record Observations
Some experiments can involve the following:
Do an ohmmeter test on the fuses affecting the car's audio and electrical system
Summarize Results
Draw Conclusions
Recall, a hypothesis is either TRUE or FALSE. Suppose you found the fuses were good. You've discovered, by experimentally testing your hypothesis, that it's not the fuses that's preventing the car from starting. At this point, you attempt to make another "best" guess... you don't randomly try another variable because it can waste time, money and efforts.
______
1.6.Questions on variables, from:
For the following experiments, circle the (IV) independent variable, underline the (DV) dependent
variable, and put a box around the (CG) control group.
You water three sunflower plants with salt water. Each plant receives a different
concentration of salt solutions. A fourth plant receives pure water. After a two-week