Chapter 1

1. Chapter 1 About Science Presented by April Senger

2. Rational Thinking • If your computer doesn’t print, you search to find out why it isn’t working • You might check the power button, plugs, ink, paper etc • Searching for the how or why something works is rational thinking • Science often looks for “Cause & Effect” • Rational Thinking is the basis for Science Presented by April Senger

3. Greece in the 3rd and 4th Centuries B.C. Spread to Rome and Mediterranean When Rome fell in 5th Century B.C. it SLOWED The Barbarians destroyed much of Science’s Past and we entered the Dark Ages The Chinese & Polynesians began charting stars and planets The Arabs developed math, glass making, paper, metals and some chemicals Greek Philosophy rekindled in Europe when Islamics entered Spain in the 10-12th Centuries The Spread of Science Presented by April Senger

4. Universities began to form In the 15th century the printing press was invented and science took a huge leap forward Why? In the 16th Century we thought the Earth was the center of the Universe Copernicus (Polish) published that the sun was the center and the planets went in circles This conflicted with the Church’s views and was banned for 200 years History of Growth Presented by April Senger

5. Kepler (Mathematician) later used shadows to determine the orbits were ellipses In the 16th Century, Galileo used experiments to study behavior instead of just speculation to gather evidence Galileo was arrested for supporting Copernican views He published his findings anyway and was found guilty in court He had to publicly renounce his theories and was placed on house arrest for the rest of his life He smuggled his works to Holland and later went blind from looking into a telescope at age 74 He died at 78 years old Some of our greatest theories were developed by intellectual rebels The Center of Attention Presented by April Senger

6. Credit of the developing the Scientific Method is given to Galileo and Francis Bacon It is based on experiments and rational thinking Make observations to recognize a question or problem Develop a hypothesis (educated guess) Make predictions Experiment Draw conclusions The Scientific Method Presented by April Senger

7. Laws, Facts and Theories • Facts are what most people believe to be true • Laws (principles) are statements about nature • If you thow a ball up, it will come down • It is a hypothesis that has been tested over and over and not contradicted • Theories synthesize facts/hypothesis but tend to explain the behavior • The sun sets in the West because of the Earth’s rotation etc • How would you change this to a Law? Presented by April Senger

8. The Proof • Aristotle said that objects with different weights fall at different speeds • Galileo used experimentation to prove this wrong • “No number of experiments can prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong” Albert Einstein Presented by April Senger

9. Concept Check • Which statements are scientific hypotheses? • A) Better stock market decisions are made when the planets Venus, Earth and Mars are aligned • B) Atoms are the smallest particles of matter that exist • C) Albert Einstein was the greatest physist of the 20th century Presented by April Senger

10. Testable Limitations • Science is restricted to testable hypotheses • Science, Art and Religion often overlap • Science is supposed to be more the How things work • Religion and Art is more of the Why • Technology has been a driving force into discovering how things work • Some argue the technology is destroying society where others feel it holds the key to many secrets to be discovered in the 21st Century Presented by April Senger

11. The Physical Sciences • Physics-study of basic concepts of motion, force, energy, matter, heat, light and components of atoms • Chemistry-tells us how mater is put together, how atoms combine to form molecules, and how molecules combine to make the materials around us • Geology- when physics and chemistry are applied to the Earth • Meteorology-study of weather patterns and atmosphere • Astronomy-application of physics, chemistry, and geology to other planets Presented by April Senger