Science Final Exam Part I Science!!

What is a hypothesis?

A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it.

What are non-renewable and renewable resources? Examples?

A renewable resource is an organic natural resource that can replenish in due time compared to the usage, either through biological reproduction or other naturally recurring processes. Examples: Solar, Water, Biomass, Geothermal, Wind. A non-renewable resource (also called a finite resource) is a resource that does not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in meaningful human time-frames. Example: Oil, Coal, Natural Gas, Nuclear Energy.

How does a scientific theory differ from non-scientific definitions of a theory?

A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. When used in non-scientific context, the word "theory" implies that something is unproven or speculative.

What is Science?

A way of learning about the natural world and the knowledge gained through the process.

What is the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics? Why do we use statistics in science?

Descriptive statistics give information that describes the data in some manner. For example, suppose a pet shop sells cats, dogs, birds and fish. If 100 pets are sold and 40 out of the 100 were dogs, then one description of the data on the pets sold would be that 40% were dogs. Inferential statistics makes inferences about populations using data drawn from the population. Instead of using the entire population to gather the data, the statistician will collect a sample or samples from the millions of residents and make inferences about the entire population using the sample.

How do ecological economics view the economy differently than neo-classical economists?

Ecological economics is distinguishable from neoclassical economics primarily by its assertion that the economy is embedded within an environmental system. Ecology deals with the energy and matter transactions of life and the Earth, and the human economy is by definition contained within this system. Ecological economists argue that neoclassical economics has ignored the environment, at best considering it to be a subset of the human economy.The neoclassical view ignores much of what the natural sciences have taught us about the contributions of nature to the creation of wealth e.g., the planetary endowment of scarce matter and energy, along with the complex and biologically diverse ecosystems that provide goods and ecosystem services directly to human communities: micro- and macro-climate regulation, water recycling, water purification, storm water regulation, waste absorption, food and medicine production, pollination, protection from solar and cosmic radiation, the view of a starry night sky, etc.

What is ecological valuation? Why is it useful?

Ecosystem valuation is a widely used tool in determining the impact of human activities on an environmental system, by assigning an economic value to an ecosystem or its ecosystem services. By providing a way to justify and set priorities for programs, policies, or actions that protect or restore ecosystems and their services.

What is environmental science?

Environmental science is a multidisciplinary academic field that integrates physical, biological and information sciences to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems.

What does it mean for a scientific result to be reproducible or repeatable? Describe what is meant by scientific consensus.

If a scientific result/experiment can be reproducible or repeatable with the same results, then it is probably true. It is a process that must happen to prove a statement. Scientific consensus is the collective judgement, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study.

What is the difference between observational and manipulative experiments?

In an observational study, the scientist goes and observes things as they happen, with no interference. They just look, record data and think about what that means. Manipulative experiments involve going out, specifically changing factors being studied, and seeing how things change. Experiments have control groups, where that factor is not changed. Comparing the control to the group that has been changed will tell you the effects of the factor that you changed.

Identify and describe important components of experiments including: independent and dependent variables, samples, replicates, treatments, controls.

Independent variable: Dependent variable: Sample: Replicates: Treatments: Controls:

What is cost-benefit analysis? How is it used to make decisions?

Is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives that satisfy transactions, activities or functional requirements for a business. It is a technique that is used to determine options that provide the best approach for the adoption and practice in terms of benefits in labor, time and cost savings etc. To provide a basis for comparing projects. It involves comparing the total expected cost of each option against the total expected benefits, to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs, and by how much.

What makes science an empirical process?

Science is considered an empirical process because it is research based.

What makes science unique from other endeavors?

Science sets up a theoretical model of what is happening, which can be reproduced by everyone.

What factors are used in calculating an ecological footprint?

The Ecological Footprint of a person is calculated by considering all of the biological materials consumed, and all of the biological wastes generated, by that person in a given year. These materials and wastes each demand ecologically productive areas, such as cropland to grow potatoes, or forest to sequester fossil carbon dioxide emissions. All of these materials and wastes are then individually translated into an equivalent number of global hectares.

What is an ecological footprint? What is its purpose?

The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate. Using this assessment, it is possible to estimate how much of the Earth (or how many planet Earths) it would take to support humanity if everybody followed a given lifestyle.

What is parsimony?

We should not go looking for more complex explanations when a simple one will do. What that really means in practice is we should go with the weight of the evidence available to us. (Ockham's Razor)

Describe anthropocentric, biocentric, and ecocentric viewpoints.

Anthropocentric: regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God or animals. Biocentric: Biocentrism states that life and biology are central to being, reality, and the cosmos — life creates the universe rather than the other way around. Ecocentric: is a term used in ecological political philosophy to denote a nature-centered, as opposed to human-centered, system of values.

What are the steps in the scientific method and how does each step work?

Ask a Question Do Background Research Construct a Hypothesis Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion Communicate Your Results

Is this linear approach to science a realistic depiction of how science works? Why not?

But in reality, in their work, scientists engage in many different activities in many different sequences. Scientific investigations often involve repeating the same steps many times to account for new information and ideas.

What kind of questions is science incapable of answering?

You can discover the answers to many of these "everyday" science questions in your local library, but for others, science may not have the answers yet, and answering such questions can lead to astonishing new discoveries. For example, we still don't know much about how your brain remembers to buy milk at the grocery store. Just as we're motivated to answer questions about our everyday experiences, scientists confront such questions at all scales, including questions about the very nature of the universe.

What is the Tragedy of the Commons? Can it be avoided? How?

an economics theory by Garrett Hardin, which says that individuals acting independently and rationally according to each one's self-interest, behave contrary to the whole group's long-term best interests by depleting some common resource. We can avoid tragedy only by altering our values, by changing the way we live. There is no technical solution.