CHECKS LAB WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO

CHECKS LAB WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SCIENCE? ?

DO NOW: � Think about this activity and how it relates to science and the way we go about making sense of the world (scientific method). List all of the possible ways this activity is related to science.

Some things I came up with… � � � � -The process of making observations vs. inferences based on evidence -Questioning the meaning evidence (inquiry) - Importance of putting things in order…(origin of life)…when events happen may play a role as to what is going on and why they happen (timing is everything) - Not everyone comes up with same conclusions based on the same information- science is not entirely objective - The order of discovery can influence your idea of what is going on (you have to be flexible) - Not every piece of information is equally important in science (some things might be more fundamental to life) - Life is expensive (financially, emotionally, energetically- in terms of energy) - Things change. Life is change. Growth is change. Situations change and they can determine where the rest of your life goes- (children change your focus) and like-wise, environment changes how organisms grow and develop (physically, mentally, etc)- sometimes your internal environment (hormones etc) influence your external one(behaviors), and sometimes the external one influences your internal one (smiling at a stranger, radiation affecting plant growth…).

We used the Scientific Method! � Observations � � Questioning � � What does this check mean? Where was it made? To whom? For how much? When? Hypothesis � � That’s a lot for a money! What we thought the answers were Testing First we compared data to other checks- does the story make sense? Does it need to be revised? � Then we compared it to what really happened � � Results � � Own story compared to the real one Conclusions � How far off were we? What did we get right? What did we get wrong? Why? What questions does it leave us with?

What Is Science? � Science is the systematic inquiry – through observation and experiment – into the origins, structure, and behavior of living and nonliving environments

What Is Science? � Science is based on the principle that all events have natural causes � The belief that all events can be traced to natural causes that we can comprehend (natural causality) Corollary: Evidence gathered from nature has not been deliberately distorted to fool us

What Is Science? � The scientific method is an important tool of scientific inquiry � The scientific method consists of six interrelated elements Observation Question Hypothesis Prediction Experiment Conclusion

What Is Science? � The scientific method is an important tool of scientific inquiry (continued) � Scientific inquiry is a rigorous method for making observations � The scientific method for inquiry follows six steps

What Is Science? � The six steps of scientific inquiry 1. Observation of a specific phenomenon 2. The observation, in turn, leads to a question 3. The question leads to formulation of a hypothesis, based on previous observations, which is offered as an answer to the question

What Is Science? � The six steps of scientific inquiry (continued) The hypothesis leads to a prediction, which is the expected outcome of testing if the hypothesis is correct 5. The prediction is tested by carefully designed additional observations or carefully controlled manipulations called experiments 6. The experiments produce results that either support or refute the hypothesis, allowing the development of a conclusion 4.

What Is Science? � Biologists test hypotheses using controlled experiments � Two types of situations are established A baseline or control situation in which all possible variables are held at a constant An experimental situation in which one factor, variable, is manipulated to test the hypothesis to determine that this variable is the cause of an observation � Science is useless unless communicated The scientific method is illustrated by experiments by Francesco Redi and Malte Andersson

Figure E 1 -1 The experiment of Francesco Redi illustrates the scientific method Observation: Flies swarm around meat left in the open; maggots appear on the meat. Question: Where do maggots on the meat come from? Hypothesis: Flies produce the maggots. Prediction: IF the hypothesis is correct, THEN keeping the flies away from the meat will prevent the appearance of maggots. Experiment: Obtain identical pieces of meat and two identical jars Place meat in each jar Leave the jar uncovered Experimental variable: gauze prevents the entry of flies Cover the jar with gauze Leave exposed for several days Controlled variables: Leave covered for several days Flies swarm around and maggots appear Results Flies are kept from the meat; no maggots appear Control situation Conclusion: time, temperature, place Experimental situation The experiment supports the hypothesis that flies are the source of maggots and that spontaneous generation of maggots does not occur.

Figure E 1 -2 The experiment of Malte Andersson Observation: Male widowbirds have extremely long tails. Question: Why do males, but not females, have such long tails? Hypothesis: Males have long tails because females prefer to mate with long-tailed males. Prediction: IF females prefer long-tailed males, THEN males with artificially lengthened tails will attract more mates. Experiment: Divide male birds into four groups Manipulate the tails of the males Do not change the tail Cut the tail and re-glue in place Experimental variable: Release the males, wait a week, count the nests Average of about one nest per male Control groups Conclusion: Cut the tail to half of the original length Add feathers to double the tail length Controlled variables: Release the males, wait a week, count the nests Results Average of less than half a nest per male Average of About two nests per male length of tail location, season, time, weather Experimental groups The hypothesis that female widowbirds prefer to mate with long-tailed males (and are less likely to mate with short-tailed males) is supported.

What Is Science? � Scientific theories have been thoroughly tested �A scientific theory is a general and reliable explanation of important natural phenomena that has been developed through extensive and reproducible observations and experiments � A scientific theory is best described as a natural law, a basic principle derived from the study of nature, which has never been disproven by scientific inquiry

What Is Science? � Scientific theories have been thoroughly tested (continued) � The cell theory (that all living organisms are composed of cells) and theory of evolution are fundamental to the study of biology