What is Science?
Chapter 1
By: Nyurka Castro
Eight Grade
Physical Science
Science and the natural world
• Scientist need the following skills to study the
natural world:
 Observe – use one or more of your senses
to gather information.
• Quantitative observation – deals with
numbers or amount.
• Qualitative observation – deals with
descriptions that cannot be expressed in
numbers.
Science and the natural world
Infer – based on reasoning from what
you already know. Also could be
based in assumptions you make about
your observations.
Predict – make statement or a claim
about what will happen in the future
based on past experience or
evidence.
Science and the natural world
Infer
Explain
what is
happening
or has
happened.
Scientist
skills
Predict
Statements
about what
will
happen.
Science and the natural world
Classify – grouping together of
items that are alike in some way.
Evaluate – involves comparing
observations and data to reach a
conclusion.
Make models – create
representations of complex
objects or processes.
Lesson 2
THINKING LIKE A
SCIENTIST
Thinking like a scientist
• Scientist should possess certain attitudes:
 Curiosity – want to learn more about
something.
 Honesty – report the reality, the true even is
not good.
 Creativity – find inventive ways to solve the
problem. Produce new things.
 Open-mindedness – capable of accepting
new or different ideas.
 Skepticism – attitude of doubt. Keeps the
scientist from accepting ideas that may be
untrue.
Thinking like a scientist
 Ethics – refers to the rules that enable
people to know right from wrong. Careful
not damage the natural world. Consider all
the effects their research may have on
people and the environment.
 Awareness of bias – Not be influence for
what others observe. How others interpret
observations
• Personal bias – person’s likes or dislike.
• Cultural bias – stems from the culture in
which a person grows up.
• Experimental bias – mistake in the
design of an experiment that makes a
particular result more likely.
Thinking like a scientist
• Scientist need to use reasoning or a logical way
of thinking to solve a problem.
• Type of reasoning:
 Objective – make decisions and draw
conclusions based on available evidence.
 Subjective – personal feelings have entered
into a decision or conclusion.
• Examples – personal opinions, values
and tastes.
Thinking like a scientist
Deductive reasoning – general idea
to specific observation.
Inductive reasoning – specific
observation to make generalization.
Faulty reasoning - draw a
conclusion from too little data.
Lesson 3
Pages 18 - 27
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
What is scientific inquiry?
• Refers to the diverse ways in which scientists
study the natural world and propose
explanations based on the evidence they
gather.
• The process start with an observation and then
a question.
• Some times the scientist run experiments, but
some cannot.
What is scientific inquiry?
1. Posing questions
 Comes from your experience,
observations and inferences
 Curiosity
2. Developing a Hypothesis
 A possible answer for a scientific
question.
 Is not a fact.
 Must be testable.
What is scientific inquiry?
3. Experiment

Must follow sound scientific principles for its
results to be valid.
 Controlling variables
•
Variables – factors that can changes in an
experiment
– Types:
» Manipulated or independent variables –
purposely changed to test a hypothesis.
» Responding or dependent variables –
factor may change in response to the
manipulated variable.
What is scientific inquiry?
 Controlled experiment – an experiment in
which only one variable is manipulated at a time.
4. Collecting and Interpreting Data
 Data – facts, figures and other evidence
gathered through qualitative and quantitaive
observations
•
•
•
•
Decide what observations you will make and
what data will collect.
Decide what your table will look like.
Collect the data.
Interpreted the data.
What is scientific inquiry?
5. Drawing conclusions
 A summary of what you have learned from an
experiment.
6. Communicating
 Sharing ideas and results with others through
writing and speaking.
•
•
•
•
Meetings
Exchanging information on the Internet
Publishing articles
Scientific journal
What are scientific theories and
laws?
Theory
Law
1. Well tested explanation for a 1. Statement that describes
wide range of observations
what scientists expect to
and experimental results.
happen every time under a
2. Scientists accept a theory
particular set of conditions.
only when it can be explain
the important observations.
3. Theories are constantly
being changed, developed,
revised or discarded as more
information is collected.
Unlike a theory, a scientific law describes an observed pattern in
nature without attempting to explain it.
Review for test