Nature of Science Notes

  1. There is a common belief that a Hypothesisbecomes a Theory which becomes a Law,but this is not true
  2. Terms
  3. Belief–Personal viewpoints, opinions, thoughts, and ideas which cannot be supported by scientific evidence.
  4. personal and give meaning to people’s lives
  5. put things in perspective and context
  6. are important, but just not science
  7. Fact–Statement which can be supported by scientific evidence.
  8. Must be true under specific conditions.
  9. Some may be found false when re-tested with better instruments.
  10. Example: Water boils at 212oF (100oC, 373K), but only at sea level.
  11. In Denver with an elevation of 1 mile it boils at 203oF (95oC, 368 K)
  12. Hypothesis–Educated guess about the relationship between 2 variables, based on observations and inferences.
  13. Hypothesis can be tested, beliefs cannot
  14. Scientific Law( same as a Natural Law) - Logical or mathematical explanation of the relationship between 2 variables, based on repeated experimentation.
  15. Examples

Boyles’ Law – In a gas a higher pressure means a smaller volume / Newton’s 2nd Law – Force accelerates an object, mass resists acceleration.
  1. Theory–Explanation of how and why things happen, based on facts and laws.
  2. The older the theory the more support it has from experimentation, laws and facts.
  3. Examples:
  4. Kinetic Molecular Theory
  5. Atomic Theory (Standard Model)
  6. Theory of Evolution
  7. Big Bang Theory
  1. Facts, Laws, and Hypothesescombine to make up a theory.

Science is / Science is not
Objective
Repeatable
Changeable
Self-Correcting / Based on opinion
Random
Permanent
Unwilling to change when it is wrong

Practice

One of the most difficult things for students and non-scientists to get ‘straight’ are the terms: Theory, Hypothesis, Law, Fact and Belief. This exercise consists of a seriesof statements, which you will mark as a statement of a Theory (T), Hypothesis (H), Fact (F), Law (L) or Belief (B). To help you out each one is used twice, once in the first 5 and once in the 2nd.

_____ 1.The United States is the greatest country on earth. Belief

_____ 2.There are 50 states in the United States. Fact

_____ 3.For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Law

_____ 4.If Water freezes at 32oF, then ice will melt at 32oF. Hypothesis

_____ 5.Through the process of natural selections humans, bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas evolved from a common ancestor species. Theory

_____ 6.The Milky Way is a spiral-type galaxy Fact

_____ 7.The positions of the planets can cause humans to act in specific ways Belief

_____ 8.If I jump out a window I will die. Hypothesis

_____ 9.Energy can be converted into matter in the ratio of E=mc2 Law

_____ 10.Illness comes from microscopic germs, some of which, bacteria, can be seen under the microscope and cultivated outside a host, and others, viruses, are too small to see under the microscope. Theory