Sciasp1cb Ch01 4Pp.Indd
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Working scientifically 1 Investigating experiments as fair tests dependent, independent and controlled variables in experiments the importance of replication and repeat trials in experiments science skills of observing, measuring, classifying and recording data equipment and safety in the science laboratory how evidence, experiments, what is known, and being creative and critical help in science Curriculum guide learning focus Communicating scientifically using scientific terms written and spoken reports for different types of audience collecting, evaluating Sample pages and displaying scientific information Science in daily life using science to solve problems in everyday life understanding that there are alternative scientific arguments and theories Science in society Outcome level descriptions Acting responsibly how science and the rest of society The outcome level descriptions the effects of science on affect each other the environment for Investigating covered in this the value that the scientific section of the book are mainly I 2, monitoring the effects of community places on honesty, I 3 and I 4. science reasoning and respect for evidence FOCUSFOCUS 11..11 Science is a word you often hear or read. On of science are everywhere and it is a vital part of our the news scientists are reported as making new lives. This is why every educated person needs to discoveries which change our world. You often know about science. It is certain that science will go hear about science in science fiction movies or on changing our lives at an ever-increasing speed. on television. Many devices, such as the mobile Context Those who do not understand it will be left behind. phone, television and compact disc player, are This is why it is important to study science at school. based on scientific discoveries. Medical advances are largely carried out by scientific research. The effects Integrated circuits enabled the development of Fig 1.1.3 electronic devices. What is science? One part of the answer is that science is a store of knowledge. Science is also a way of finding answers to questions. Fig 1.1.1 Science affects many areas of our lives. The MRI machine enables doctors to look inside our bodies. Science as a store of knowledge Hundreds of years of using a scientific approach have resulted in the accumulation of a large body Sampleof scientific pages knowledge. The total extent of this knowledge is now more than any one person can ever hope to learn. For example, we know how the heart works, what makes stars shine, why children look like their parents, why some chemicals explode and how a virus can make you ill. But there are many things we do not know enough about, such as how the human brain works, or all the causes of cancer, or whether life exists on other planets. The thrill of science is that we can discover new information. The branches of science The study of science is divided into smaller sections, This X-ray shows a heart pacemaker used to Fig 1.1.2 called the branches of science. Usually a scientist regulate a person’s heartbeat. becomes a specialist in one of these branches. 3 What is science? >>> There are four main branches of science. Let science help asthma attacks, how animals can navigate over long 1 If you learn about science Biology is the study of you will understand our distances, how to cure diseases such as AIDS and how living things. It has two world a lot better. It can to prevent pollution of the environment. main sub-sections. help you make decisions Some questions take many years to be answered. Botany is the study of plants, and about how you live and We may have to do many experiments to find answers. the things you do. It can zoology is the study of help you make the world animals. People who study a better place for all. You Saving endangered species from extinction biology are called biologists. may be surprised to learn Fig 1.1.5 is an important goal of science. that people in many types 2 Geology is the study of the of jobs use scientific structure of the Earth and knowledge—for example of the rocks and minerals electricians, mechanics, pilots, nutritionists and of the Earth’s crust. People sports coaches. who study geology are called geologists. 3 Chemistry is the study of the tiny particles from which all the living and non-living materials of the Universe are formed, and how these materials can change and affect each other. People who study chemistry are called chemists. 4 Physics is the study of the behaviour of matter and energy. When you study physics you will learn about sound, electricity, light and heat. People who Some questions may never be able to be answered by study physics are physicists. science. So science does not have all the answers to every question we may ask. There are many ways of finding the answers to our questions. Science investigations come in a variety of different forms but the key approach or method that science uses to discover answers is the ‘scientific method’. You will learn about many of the variations on this method over the next few years. Scientific method The scientific method is a series of steps used to Samplediscover pages new information. While there can be some variations in this method, most scientists would agree the process generally consists of the following steps. 1 Making observations Fig 1.1.4 Microscopes are most widely used in the branches of biology, but can be used in We make observations using our senses of sight, other fields. hearing, touch, smell and taste. More accurate observations need measuring instruments such as Science as a way of answering thermometers and clocks. 2 Posing a question questions Scientists are curious people. They want to know Science is also a method by which we can find the why. So the next step is to ask why something answers to questions about the world around us. happened. A method is a series of steps or rules to follow to 3 Making a hypothesis discover an answer to a question. Some questions A hypothesis is a possible answer to the question. that science is trying to answer include what causes You use your knowledge of science to decide what the answer to the question is likely to be. 4 11..11 This is where knowing quite a lot of science is really useful. A guess is a ‘lucky shot’, when you 9 What type of scientist would work in each of the don’t know anything about the subject concerned. following situations? FOCUS FOCUS A hypothesis is not a guess, as you use your a an oil drilling company knowledge to help you decide on a likely answer. b a plastics factory 4 Testing the hypothesis c a plant nursery The hypothesis is then tested to see if it is backed d a company that generates electricity up by evidence. You are trying to find out if it e a company that builds aircraft seems to be correct or not. This test is usually f a zoo done by an experiment. Sometimes a second g a gold mine. hypothesis has to be put forward if the first one is 10 Consider each of the following quotes. Indicate which not supported. step of the scientific method each one represents. 5 Making a theory a ‘… before you base a law on this case, test it two If a hypothesis is tested many times and is found or three times to see whether the tests produce the same effects’ (Leonardo da Vinci) always to be supported by evidence it may be b ‘Once you have asked the right question, many called a theory. An example of a theory is the likely answers become obvious’ (Karl Kruszelnicki) atomic theory, which is about all matter being c ‘… all sciences are vain and full of errors … that made of very small particles called atoms. do not … pass through any of the five senses’ This is only a brief outline of the scientific method. (Leonardo da Vinci). You will look at it in more detail in later foci. 11 Imagine you discover a dog with a cut and bleeding paw. The cut is 3 centimetres long and has clean, sharp edges. Indicate which of the following hypotheses are . likely to explain this, and give reasons for your answers. 1 1 [ Questions ] a The dog stood on a piece of wire. b The dog bumped its paw against a wall. Use your book c The dog caught its paw in a door. Science as a store of knowledge d A cat slashed it with its claws. e The dog stood on a sharp object like a piece of 1 Give two answers to the question ‘What is science?’ FOCUS sheet metal. In which branch of science do you study: 2 f Someone stood on the dog’s paw. a animals and plants? 12 Consider your answer for Question 11 above. b plants? a What would your answer be if you were told the dog c light and sound? had been inside the house all day? earthquakes? d b Do you need a new hypothesis? Science as a way of answering questions 3 Do science investigations all use the same method? Investigating questions 4 What do we mean when we saySample science is ‘a way of 13 Findpages out what work is done by scientists who work as: answering questions’? a archaeologists c biochemists The scientific method b entomologists d engineers. 5 Rearrange the letters in the following jumbled-up words to 14 Name two current problems that scientists are trying make words in the scientific method, and put the words to solve.