Title of Chapter 1
About Science
fact
a phenomenon about which competent observers who have made a series of observations are in agreement
hypothesis
an educated guess; a reasonable explanation of an observation or experimental result that is not fully accepted as factual until tested over and over again by experiment
law
a general hypothesis or statement about the relationship of natural quantities that has been tested over and over again and has not been contradicted. also known as a principle
principle
a general hypothesis or statement about the relationship of natural quantities that has been tested over and over again and has not been contradicted. also known as law
pseudoscience
fake science that pretends to be real science
scientific method
principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses
theory
a synthesis of a large body of information that encompasses well-tested and verified hypotheses about certain aspects of the natural world
What is science?
the body of knowledge that describes the order within the nature and the causes of that order (beginnings when peeps found regularities and relationships in nature. made headway in 3rd and 4th centuries BC in Greece)
Throughout the ages, what has been the general reaction to new ideas about established 'truths'?
at first, everyone hates the idea and shuns the guy that made the idea. the people like to stick to their past beliefs. but eventually, the ideas are usually accepted and it helps with the advancement of the world.
When the sun was directly overhead in Syene, why was it not directly overhead in Alexandria?
alexandria is 800 km away from syene and the vertical rays of sunlight hitting syene would not be vertical in alexandria
The Earth, like everything else illuminated by the Sun, casts a shadow. Why does this shadow taper?
The Earth's shadow tapers because of the Sun's large size. (it tapers more the further away you go from the earth)
How does the Moon's diameter compare with the distance between the Earth and the Moon?
1/110
How does the Suns diameter compare with the distance between the earth and the sun?
1/110
why did aristarchus make his measurements of the suns distance at the time of a half moon?
because the sun, moon, and earth form a right triangle and it was easy to get the hypotenuse (from the earth to the sun)
what are the circular spots of light seen on the ground beneath a tree on a sunny day?
images of the sun inbetween tree leaves
what is the role of equations in this course?
they are guides to thinking that show the connections between concepts in nature
outline the steps of the classic scientific method
1. recognize a q or puzzle, such as an unexplained fact. 2. make an educated guess- a hypothesis- that might resolve the puzzle 3. predict consequenses of the hypothesis 4. perform experiments or make calculations to test the predictions 5. formulate the simplest general rule that organizes the three main ingredients: hypothesis, predicted effects, and experimental findings.
distinguish among a scientific fact, a hypothesis, a law, and a theory.
(see definitions) if a scientist finds evidence that contradicts a hypothesis, law or principle, then it must be changed or abandoned, regardless of the advocator's reputation.
in daily life, people are often praised for maintaining some particular point of view, for the 'courage of their convictions'. a change of mind is seen as a sign of weakness. how is this different in science?
in science, a change of mind is a strength. improving beliefs is more important then defending them. ex: theories undergo change, refinement of theories (changing your mind about them) is a strength and leads to scientific progress. HOWEVER, scientists only change their minds when confronted with solid experimental evidence or when a conceptually simpler hypothesis forces them to a new point of view.
what is the test for whether a hypothesis is scientific or not?
it must have a test for possible wrongness! A scientific hypothesis must be testable-- at least in principle, must be susceptible to being shown to be wrong.
in daily life, we see many cases of people who are caught misrepresenting things and who soon thereafter are excused and accepted by their contemporaries. how is this different for science?
a discredited scientist does not get a second chance. the penalty for fraud is professional excommunication. Honesty is very important to scientists.
what test can you perform to increase the chance in your own mind that you are right about a particular idea?
you should be sure that you understand the objections and the positions of your most articulate antagonists. find out whether your views are supported by sound knowledge of opposing ideas or by your MISCONSEPTIONS of those ideas. you can make this distinction by seeing whether or not you can state the objections and positions of your opposition to THEIR satisfaction. even if you can successfully do this, you cannot be absolutely certain of being right about your own ideas, but the probability of being right is much higher.
why are students of the arts encouraged to learn about science and science students encouraged to learn about the arts?
they overlap (art is about cosmic beauty. science is about cosmic order). science and arts are comparable. arts doesnt give us experiences but it describes experiences and suggests what may be possible for us. science tells us what is possible in nature. scientific knowledge helps us to predict possibilities in nature even before those possibilities have been experienced. it provides us with a way of connecting things, of seeing relationships between and among them, and of making sense of the great variety of natural events around us. science broadens our perspective of nature. A knowledge of both the science and the arts makes for a wholeness that affects the way we view the world and the decisions we make about it and ourselves.
why do many people believe they must choose between science and religion?
they have similarities, but are basically different-- because of different domains. science- natural order. religion- nature's purpose. religions believe in a supreme being and a creation of human community. science does not. mainly people that are uninformed or misinformed about the deeper natures of both science and religion who feel that they must chose between believing in religion and science.
psychological comfort is a benefit of having solid answers to religious questions. what benefit accompanies a position of not knowing the answers?
to keep an open mind and heart and keep exploring. (scientists are comfortable with not knowing)
clearly distinguish between science and technology
science is concerned with gathering and organizing knowledge. technology is the tool that lets humans use that knowledge for practical purposes, and it provides the tools needed by scientists in their further explorations. (however, technology is a double-edged sword and can be used to help or hurt the environment. we should be careful how we use it)
why is physics considered to be the basic science?
its about the nature of basic things such as motion, forces, energy, matter, heat, sound, light, and the structure of atoms. the concepts of physics reach up to the more complicated sciences of chemistry and biology.