Info Cards

1
Info Cards

• Name
• email
• Major (or prospective area of study)
• Number of College Credits (Approx.)
• Did you have Physics or Physical Science in high
  school?

2
The Nature of Science

• an introduction

3
Walking in a forest

• Suppose you are on a nature hike, you come across
  a very unusual specimen

4
Walking in a forest

• Suppose you are on a nature hike, you come across
  a very unusual specimen
• It would appear to be a BEERTREE!

5
Does Beer grow on trees?

• An important Question
• What do you think?

6
So Prove It!

• What evidence do you have?
• What tests could you perform to prove or disprove
  your answer?

7
The Scientific Method

• Pose a question or problem

8
The Scientific Method

• Pose a question or problem
• Formulate a Hypothesis, or educated guess

9
The Scientific Method

• Pose a question or problem
• Formulate a Hypothesis, or educated guess
• Predict an observable consequence based on this
  hypothesis

10
The Scientific Method

• Pose a question or problem
• Formulate a Hypothesis, or educated guess
• Predict an observable consequence based on this
  hypothesis
• Perform experiments to test the prediction

11
The Scientific Method

• Pose a question or problem
• Formulate a Hypothesis, or educated guess
• Predict an observable consequence based on this
  hypothesis
• Perform experiments to test the prediction
• If it Fails If it Succeeds
• ?back to 2 ?back to 3

12
The Scientific Method

• Pose a question or problem
• Formulate a Hypothesis, or educated guess
• Predict an observable consequence based on this
  hypothesis
• Perform experiments to test the prediction
• If it Fails If it Succeeds
• ?back to 2 ?back to 3
• When tested over and over and not contradicted, a
  hypothesis becomes a Law

13
Eureka!

• What is a theory any ideas?

14
Eureka!

• What is a theory any ideas?
• In everyday lingo, a hypothesis and a theory are
  often used interchangeably.

15
Eureka!

• What is a theory any ideas?
• In everyday lingo, a hypothesis and a theory are
  often used interchangeably.
• BUT a Scientific Theory is more
• A powerful yet simple model that makes many
  predictions that survive repeated and varied
  testing

16
Eureka!

• What is a theory any ideas?
• In everyday lingo, a hypothesis and a theory are
  often used interchangeably.
• BUT a Scientific Theory is more
• A powerful yet simple model that makes many
  predictions that survive repeated and varied
  testing
• Hypothesis replaced anytime it fails, but to
  replace a theory we need a new explanation to
  support any failures.

17
Famous Scientific Theories

• Newtons Theory of Gravity
• Einsteins Theory of Relativity
• Darwins Theory of Evolution

18
Next time

• Well look at how the scientific method was used
  to overturn a 2,000 year old myth about motion.
• Homework
• Read the Prologue of Textbook