SCIENCE - 1

1. SCIENCE - 1 • Mr. Halfen • Sep. 2011

2. What is a hypothesis? • Jot down the letters of the definitions/descriptions for hypothesis that you believe are correct. • (Keeley, Eberle & Dorsey, 2008)

3. hypothesis • a) a tentative explanation • b) statement that can be tested • c) an educated guess • d) an investigative question • e) a prediction about the outcome of an experiment • f) a question asked at the beginning of an experiment • g) a statement that may lead to a prediction • h) included as a part of all scientific investigations • i) used to prove whether something is true • j) eventually becomes a theory, then a law • k) may guide an investigation • l) used to determine what data to pay attention to and seek • m) developed from imagination and creativity • n) must be in the form of “if..., then...”

4. Hypothesis • The accepted answers are: A, B, G, K, L & M. • C - overused & meaningless • D & F - hypotheses are statements, not questions • E & G - predictions do not explain “why?” • H - not all (see models) • I - nothing is absolute in science • J - NO! • N - can be but not required

5. hypothesis • Hypothesis - a tentative explanation, based on scientific observation or prior knowledge, that can be tested

6. is it a model? • Jot down the letters of the descriptions for models that you believe are correct. • (Keeley & Tugel, 2009)

7. model • a) building a paper airplane • b) making an analogy (e.g. the heart is like a pump) • c) observing a bird’s behavior at a bird feeder • d) developing an equation to solve a scientific problem • e) making a plant cell out of household materials • f) analyzing whale migration patterns with a computer program • g) building & testing a bridge made of toothpicks • h) drawing an electrical circuit • i) forming a mental image of molecules in a liquid state • j) demonstrating the day/night cycle with a globe & a flashlight • k) dissecting a cow’s bone • l) watching a computer simulation of a hurricane • m) going on a field trip to the Grand Canyon • n) graphing teh speed of a car • o) watching a live video of an active volcano • p) making a replica of a human heart out of clay • q) looking at blood cells under a microscope

8. model • The accepted answers are A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, N and P. • C, K, M, O and Q all involve using real objects and, therefore, are not models.

9. models • Models are one means of carrying out scientific research. • Models can be physical (model airplanes), drawings (water cycle), conceptual (food web) or mathematical (equations, graphs or computer models).

10. scientific research • Models are only one means to carry out scientific research. • There are two other broad categories of scientific research: • observational: making qualitative or quantitative descriptions of real world phenomena • experimental: analysis of a simplified model of a system using a hypothesis to guide the research

11. Homework • Was the homework scientific research? • If so, what kind of research was the homework?

12. science • science - the study of the natural world through research to understand how natural objects behave and to make predictions about this world