Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work. -- James Randi

I wish to propose for the reader's favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true.Bertrand Russell --On the Value of Scepticism

Read the instructions below to investigate the scientific process. Read the text sections, do the activities and answer any questions according to your directions.

Instructions on what to do are given in red. Hypertext links are in green. Begin by reading the two paragraphs below:

Science is a way of investigating the world, of forming general rules about how things happen by observing particular situations. A scientist is any observer who looks at the world in order to understand what it is doing and how it is doing it.

Stated briefly, a scientist attempts to determine what are the variables (changing factors) that explain what is being observed. If he/she thinks that any one of those variables is the major cause of the thing being observed, then the scientist will formulate a hypothesis (a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences).

Activity

Read the activity below and provide and answer to the question that is asked:

 Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, stated that males and females have different numbers of teeth. He provided long arguments as to why this is the way things ought to be, but he never actually looked to see if it was true.

Aristotle, the father of Western logic, had written in his books on logic that women have one tooth less than men. That was traditionally thought to be true for years in Greece, because a woman cannot be equal in any way to a man, so how can she have the same number of teeth as man?

In the text box below briefly answer question #1:

1."How would you go about determining the number of teeth in the mouths of men and women?"

Read, and examine, the information on the Scientific Method below. Then answer the questions on the Quiz on a sheet of paper to be handed in:

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1. Science has some unique features that make it different from other fields of study.  One of those features is a sequence of logical steps to generate new ideas, answer questions, and draw conclusions.  How scientists try to solve a problem or answer a question.

2. The characteristic steps in a scientific inquiry are commonly called THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD.  The Scientific Method involves:

    A. OBSERVING OR OBSERVATION

    B. ASKING A QUESTION

    C. COLLECTING DATA

    D. HYPOTHESIZING

    E. EXPERIMENTING

    F. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

    G. COMMUNICATING RESULTS 

OBSERVING

1. The process of science begins with making careful observations.  Sometime, making Observations requires little more than carefully looking at an object.  Scientists have many tools to help with observing, the microscope and medical equipment are examples.

ASKING A QUESTION

1. ALL SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS BEGINS WITH ONE OR MORE QUESTIONS.

2. The questions come from the observations made.

COLLECTING DATA

1. The LONGEST PHASE of a scientific investigation is usually Data Collection.

2. DATA include any and all information that scientist gather to answer their questions.

3. There are FOUR important aspects to collecting Data:  OBSERVING, MEASURING, SAMPLING, AND ORGANIZING DATA.

    A.  OBSERVING - It is the observation of something unusual or unexplained that raises the first question.  Observation typically employs one or more of the FIVE SENSES to perceive objects or events.  Most observation in a scientific investigation are Direct.

    B.  MEASURING - Many kinds of observations involve QUANTITATIVE DATA - Data that can be measured numerically.

    (1).  Scientists may measure the dimensions of an object, the number of objects in a group, the duration of an event, or other characteristics in precise units.

    C.  SCIENTIFIC SAMPLING is the technique of using a sample, that is, a Small part, to represent an entire population.  To be useful, samples must by LARGE AND RANDOM - they should include as many subjects as possible, and a scientist must be sure to sample a cross section of the population so that an accurate representation is obtained.

    D. ORGANIZING DATA - Data are of little use unless they are organized.  Organizing data involves placing observations and measurements in some kind of logical order, in a graph, chart, table, or map.

HYPOTHESIZING

1. When scientist have made many observations and collected sufficient data, they SUGGEST A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION for what they have seen and recorded.  This Explanation, called a HYPOTHESIS, IS A STATEMENT THAT BOTH EXPLAINS THEIR OBSERVATIONS AND DATA AND CAN BE TESTED.

2. A statement (Hypothesis) is testable if evidence can be collected that either supports it or disproves it.

3. A Hypothesis may be shown to be wrong, but it can NEVER be proved TRUE beyond all doubt.  It can only be supported by evidence.  Scientists often must refine and revise their original Hypothesis - or even discard them - as they uncover new evidence.

4. To TEST a Hypothesis, a scientist makes a PREDICTION that logically follows from the Hypothesis.

5. A PREDICTION is a statement made in advance that states the results that will be obtained from testing a Hypothesis, if the Hypothesis is TRUE.  A Prediction most often takes the form of an "IF-THEN" Statement.

EXPERIMENTING

1. An Hypothesis is often tested by carrying out an EXPERIMENT.

2. EXPERIMENTING IS THE PROCESS OF TESTING A HYPOTHESIS OR PREDICTION BY GATHERING DATA UNDER CONTROLLED CONDITIONS.

3. ALL experiments have variables - factors that can change in an experiment.  Temperature, length of time, size, and chemical composition are possible variables.

4. A CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT is based on a comparison of a Control Group with an Experimental Group.  The Control Group and the Experimental Group are designed to BE IDENTICAL EXCEPT for ONE FACTOR.

5. The one factor being tested is called the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE OR EXPERIMENTAL VARIABLE, ALL OTHER VARIABLES MUST BE CONTROLLED.

6. During the course of a controlled experiment, a scientist observes or measures another factor in both the control group and the experimental group.  This factor is called the DEPENDENT VARIABLE - dependent because it is driven by or results from the Independent Variable.

7. After the experiment, the data collected must be organized and analyzed to determine whether data are reliable and weather they support or do not support a Hypothesis or Prediction.

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

MODELING, INFERRING, OR FORMING A THEORY

1. The GOAL of scientific investigation is to shed light on something previously Not Understood.

2. THE FINAL STEP OF MOST INVESTIGATIONS IS TO PRODUCE A MODEL.

3. Modeling involves constructing a representation of an object, a system, or a process that helps show relationships among data.

4. A MODEL IS ESSENTIALLY AN EXPLANATION SUPPORTED BY DATA.  It can be visual, verbal, or mathematical.

5. INFERRING - An inference is a conclusion made on the basis of facts or premises rather than on direct observations.  IF YOU SEE SMOKE, YOU WILL PROBABLY INFER THAT ITS SOURCE IS FIRE, EVEN IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE FIRE.  An inference is not directly testable.

6. FORMING A THEORY - A Theory may be formed after many related Hypotheses have been tested and supported with much experimental evidence.  A Theory is a broad and comprehensive statement of what is THOUGHT TO BE TRUE.

IMPLEMENTING SCIENTIFIC METHODS

1. The final step of Scientific Method is to communicate your findings and to share your results of your studies with others.  Communication allows scientists to test and build on the work of others.

2. Two ways to communicate your findings are to publish your findings in scientific journals or present them at scientific meetings.

 

 Now that you have studied the scientific method, or process, take the Quiz to demonstrate your understanding of the process.

The Scientific Method Quiz

As another indicator of your understanding of the Scientific Method try to use it in solving a problem. The Grasshopper Problem is stated below. Work on the problem with a partner and try to determine which grasshopper wins the race. Your answer, to be correct, must contain a logical sequence of steps (scientific method), diagrams and numerical data to support your hypothesis. Put all of your work on a separate sheet of paper to be handed in for grading as a Jump Ball. Your instructor will give you some help during the exercise, but the conclusions drawn will be yours. Here's the problem:

Two grasshoppers decided to have a race. The course they were going to hop down was 12 feet long, one way, and was to be covered both ways for a total of 24 feet. At a signal, both grasshoppers started hopping down the course. The larger one covered 10 inches in one jump with the average height of the jumps being 3 inches, while the smaller one covered only 5 inches in each jump with an average height per jump being 4 inches. But, the smaller grasshopper took two jumps for every jump of the large grasshopper. Which grasshopper won the race?

 

Check the appropriate box indicating your choice of results.

The small grasshopper won

The large grasshopper won

The race was a tie