Chapter 1 Reading Checks
Which of the following are scientific hypotheses? 1. Chlorophyll makes grass green 2. Earth rotates about its axis because living things need an alternation of light and darkness. 3. Tides are caused by the Moon
1. Chlorophyll makes grass green 3. Tides are caused by the Moon
Distinguish between a hypothesis and a theory.
A hypothesis is an educated guess, whereas a theory encompasses well tested and verified hypotheses.
What is the test for whether a hypothesis is scientific or not?
A hypothesis is scientific if it is possible to prove it 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 in science?
A scientist who lies in a scientific publication will suffer professional excommunication.
Why is physics considered to be the basic science?
Because all other sciences can be shown to be derived from it.
The Greek mathematician Eratosthenes made measurements to show the size of _______.
Earth
What is the role of equations in this book?
Equations are guides to thinking and show connections between concepts.
What are steps of the scientific method?
Hypothesis, predictions, and experimental findings.
Why are students of the arts encouraged to learn about science and science students encouraged to learn about the arts?
Knowing both the arts and sciences makes for a wholeness in the way we view the world.
Throughout the ages, what has been the general reaction to new ideas about established "truths"?
New ideas are opposed.
Must people choose between science and religion?
No, there is no contradiction in being scientific and religious in one's thinking.
Psychological comfort is a benefit of having solid answers to religious questions. What benefit accompanies a position of not knowing the answers?
Not knowing answers opens the mind to a lifetime of exploring.
What is the most basic science?
Physics
Briefly, what is science?
Science describes the order in nature and the causes of that order; a way of knowing about the world and making sense of it; creates testable laws and theories.
Clearly distinguish between science and technology.
Science gathers the knowledge that technology uses for practical purposes.
What test can you perform to increase the chance in your own mind that you are right about a particular idea?
See if you can state the objections of your opponents to their satisfaction.
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?
When a scientist finds evidence that contradicts a law, then the law must be abandoned.
A theory in science is ______.
a synthesis of well-tested ideas
A fact in science is ______.
an agreement between trained investigators
Technology is a tool for ______.
applying scientific discoveries
Equations in Conceptual Physics are used mainly _______.
guides to thinking
The scientific method of Galileo and Bacon is ______.
one of many ways of making discoveries
Religion is concerned mainly with the ______.
spiritual world
A scientific hypothesis deemed valid must have a test for proving it ______.
wrong
