Chapter 2 Section 1 Science

How are theories related to natural laws?

Theories are a human attempt to describe a natural law. Example: If you leave a hot cup of coffee on the table eventually it will cool down. Why? There must be some natural law that explains what causes the coffee to cool. A human attempt to this example would be asking what it is about the coffee that makes it hot.

Natural Laws

the set of rules that are obeyed by every detail of everything that occurs in the universe

Deduce

to figure something out from known facts using logical thinking

When describing scientific evidence, what is the meaning of the word repetable?

when descriibing scientific evidence the meaning of the word repeatable is ex: say you just did a lab and you have all your evidence and answers and you turned it in. The teacher askes you if you could do the experiment again and come up with different evidence but on the same project. you say yes, which means the evidence is the project is repeatable.

The scientific Method

1) Scientists observe nature, then develop or revise hypotheses about how things work. 2) The hypotheses are tested against evidence collected from observations and experiments. 3) Any hypotheses that correctly accounts for all of the evidence from observations and experiments in a potentially correct theory. 4) A theory is continually tested by colecting new and different evidence. Even one single piece of evidence that does not agree with a theory will force scientists to return to step one.

Describe the relationship between a hypothesis, a theory, and a natural law.

A hypothesis, a theory, and a natural law are all connected. A theory and a natural law are connected because a theory is a human attempt to descirbe a natural law. Hypothesis and theorys are connected because theories start out as hypothesis. Hypothesis and natural laws are connected because natural law is really what happens in an experiment and a hypothesis takes a educated guess on what happens in the experiment.

What is the theory of caloric?

Before 1843, scientists believed (a theory) that heat was a kind of fluid (like water) that flowed from hotter objects to colder objects. They called this "Caloric". People thought hot objects had more caloric then cold objects. When a hot object touched a cold object, the caloric flowed between them until temperatures were the same.

When is evidence considered scientific?

Evidence is considered scientific when it is either objective or repeatable. When it is objective it means that the evidence should describe only what actually happened as excatly as possible. When it is repeatable it means that the others who look the same way at the same thing will observe the same results.

What counts as scientific evidence?

Scientific evidence is so important in science, there are careful rules defining what counts as scientific evidence. Example: tables, graphs, words, pictures, and sound recordings.

How are theories tested against evidence?

Scientists are always testing the theories we believe against new experiments and new evidence. Only one out of two ways can happen when new evidence is found: 1) The current theory correctly explains the new evidence. 2) The current theory does not explain the new evidence.

hypothesis

a possible explanation that can be tested by comparision with scientific evidence. early hypotheses are rarely correst and are often modified as new evidence becomes availible

scientific method

a process of learning that begins with a hypothesis and proceeds to prove or change the hypotheses by comparing it with scientific evidence

Inquiry

a process of learning that starts with asking questions and proceeds by seeking the answers to the questions

theory

a scientfic explanation supported by a lot of evidence collected over a long period of time

Why of the following is any example of deduction?

a) Hector calls the weather service to find out if the temperature outside if below freezing. b) Caroline looks out the window and concludes that the temperature is below freezing bevause she sees that the puddbles in her neighbor's driveway if frozen. Answer: B; Caroline didn't call anyone or ask anyone if it was freezing outside, she used her knowledge by looking outside and observing the frozen driveway. Answering her question by herself, deduction is when a person figures something out by logical thinking, which is excatly what Caroline did.

Julie a 3rd grade student believes that the moon disappears on certains days every month. Explain why the following information is or is not scientific evidence which can be used to evalute julies hypothesis.

a) Julie sometimes cannot see the moon all night even though the sky is clear. b)Anne, julies older siter thinks the phases of the moon are caused by the moons position in orbit around the earth. Answer: B; Because no matter what the moon is in the sky, say you look to the right side of the sky the moon might not be there but it might be on the left side. The moon is always in the sky its just a matter of where the orbit of the moon is.

Which of the following is an example of learning through inquiry?

a) Miguel is told that hot objects, like a cup of coffee, cool off when left on the table in a cooler room. b)Enrique wonders what happens to hot objects if you remove them from the stove. He puts a thermometer in a pot of boiling water and observes that the water cools off once its removed from the heat source. Answer: B; Because Inquiry is when someone askes questions and you proceed to find out what the answers are through an experiment, this is excatly what Enrique did. Enrique wondered what happens to hot objects if you remove them from the stove. He put a thermometer in a pot of boiling and observed that water cools off once once its removed from the heat source, answering his question.

Repeatable

describes evidence that can be seen independently by others if they repeat the same experiment or observation in the same way

Objective

describes evidence that documents "only what actually happened" as possible