What is Science? The Way Scientists Work and Think
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2018
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Designed to be the basis for a science course intended to fulfill a general education science requirement in a variety of different programs...
The content of this publication is presented in a format ideal for active classroom instruction. This publication also provides convenience and value to remote instruction by implementing all the key instructional content while presenting minimal requirements for students’ computer data transmission and display.
Welcome
Introduction
Objectives
Acknowledgement
CHAPTER 1. What is Science?
What Is Data?
Measurement and Uncertainty
Accuracy vs. Precision
The Nature of Science
Laws and Theories of Nature
Solving a problem
Scientific Laws and Theories
The Scientific Method
Quantifying
Data Tables and Graphs
Example of Graphing Dependent and Independent Variables
Connecting Data to Laws and Theories by Logic
Thinking Like a Scientist
Assumptions of Science
Proper Science
Other Characteristics of Science
Issues
Limitations of Science
Questions Science Can Answer
Questions Science Cannot Answer
So What is "Settled Science"?
Chapter 1 Homework
CHAPTER 2. The Scientific Method
What is NOT Science?
Scientific Method
A Scientific Approach to Problem Solving
The Scientific Method
Steps in the Scientific Method
Controls and Variables
Data Collection and Interpretation
Data Collection
Conclusion
Retest
Review
Solving a Problem
Using Logic to Draw Conclusions from the Data
Control Samples
Chapter 2 Homework
Chapter 3. The History of Early Science
Some Early Beginnings
Four Periods in the Development of Modern Science
Babylonians/Sumerians
Democritus, Greece (c. 460 – c. 370 BCE)
Aristarchus of Samos, Greece (c. 230 – c. 310 BCE)
Archimedes, Sicily (287 – 212 BCE)
Aristotle, Greece (384 – 322 BCE)
The Geocentric Model
Ending the “Dark Ages”
During the Middle Ages (roughly the 5th to the 15th century) Science in the West
The Malleus Maleficarum
A Brief History of Modern Western Science
Roger Bacon, “The First Scientist,” England (1214-1292 CE)
William of Ockham, England (1285-1349 CE)
Hippocrates, Founder of Medicine, Greece (460-375 BCE)
Paracelsus, (Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), Switzerland (1493-1541 CE)
William Gilbert, England (1540-1603)
Ptolemy, Egypt (90 - 170 CE)
Copernicus, Poland (1473-1543)
Tycho Brahe, Denmark (1546-1601)
Johannes Kepler, Germany (1571-1630)
What Is an Ellipse?
The Lead-Up to Modern Science
Francis Bacon, England (1561-1626)
Galileo Galilei, Italy (1564 – 1642)
William Harvey, England (1578-1657)
Robert Boyle, England (1627-1691)
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Holland (1632-1723)
Sir Isaac Newton, England (1642-1727)
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Corpuscular Theory of Light (1704)
Wave Theory of Light
Joseph Priestley, England (1733-1804)
Henry Cavendish, England (1731-1810)
Antoine Lavoisier, France (1743 – 1794)
Carl Linnaeus, Sweden (1707-1778)
Robert Hooke, England (1635-1703)
Michael Faraday, England (1791 – 1867)
Scientific Development from 1543 to 1619
Scientific Development from 1628 to 1662
Scientific Development from 1666 to 1789
Summary of Trends in Science before 1900
Chapter 3 Homework
Chapter 4. Paradigm Shifts Begin
Science Advances by Paradigm Shifts
Paradigms
Paradigm Shifts Throughout History
Definitions
Requirements for a Change in Paradigm
Atomic Theory of Matter
John Dalton, England (1766-1844)
Quantum Theory
Electromagnetic Radiation
Max Planck, Germany (1858-1947)
Other New Paradigms: Evolution and Beyond
Charles Darwin, England (1809-1882), The Theory of Evolution
Summary
Louis Pasteur, France (1822-1895), Germ Theory of Disease
The New Physics
Quantum Theory of Matter
Entering the 20th Century
The Original Atom
The Bohr Atom
The Dual Particle/Wave Nature of Matter
Madame Curie (Maria Salomea Skłodowska), Poland/France (1867 – 1934)
Albert Einstein, Germany/US (1879-1955)
Chapter 4 Homework
Chapter 5. How We Know
Designing an Experiment
Making Observations
Topic: How to Make Systematic Observations
Criteria for Statistical Scientific Results
Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice
Logical Fallacies in Interpreting Results
Junk Science
Other Types of Common Fallacies
Imagination and Confounding
Common Fallacies in Science/Religion
Confounding
Global Warming: An Example of the Importance of Eliminating Multiple Confounding Variables
A Few Things to Think About
Chapter 5 Homework
Chapter 6. Ethics in Science
Some Definitions
Topics in This Chapter
Morality and Ethics
Metaethics
Normative Ethics
Rules and Rights (Codes of Ethics)
Precedents
Internal Scientific Ethics
Guidelines
Ways to Avoid Internal Ethics Issues
Some Hypothetical Case Histories
External Scientific Ethics
Topics in This Chapter
Two Views of Ethics in Science
Ethical Dilemma: Practice of Modern Medicine
There are Many Different Kinds of “Benefit” to a Patient
Ethical Dilemma: Eugenics
Ethical Dilemma: What Is a “Person”?
Ethical Dilemma: Direction of Medical Scientific Research
Ethical Dilemma: When, if Ever, is it Ethical to Experiment on People?
Ethical Dilemma: Chemical and Biological Weapons
Ethical Dilemma: Nuclear Weapons
A Few Things to Think About
Chapter 6 Homework
Chapter 7. What is Nonscience?
The Nature of the Problem
Categories of Questionable Science
What is Nonscience?
False Beliefs and Weaselings
What Is Nonscience?
Some Other Common Examples of Beliefs Contradicted or Not Supported by Facts
Some Other Common Examples of Beliefs Not Supported by Facts
Weasel Words
The Precautionary Principle
Nature of the Issue
Questions
Invoking the Precautionary Principle Requires Three Conditions to Be Met:
PP Opposition
Precautionary Principle Criticisms
PP Supporters
Some Current Potentially Harmful Examples
Chapter 7 Homework
Chapter 8. Antiscience and Pseudoscience
Brief History of Antiscience and Some Examples
Examples of Antiscience
Modern Antiscience
Skepticism versus Antiscience
Basics of Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Some Ancient Examples
Marks of Modern Pseudoscience
Designing a Debunking Experiment
The Attractions of Pseudoscience
Other Attractions of Pseudoscience
Borderline Cases and Vindications
Borderline Cases
Ludwig Boltzmann, Austria (1844-1906)
Alfred Wegener, Germany (1880 - 1930)
Vindication
Chapter 8 Homework
Chapter 9. Science and Religion
Definitions and Ideas
Review: What Is Science?
What Do We Mean by Religion?
Recall Some Common Fallacies in Science/Religion
Some Definitions
Modern Religions of the World
Conflicts and Synthesis
Fundamentalism
Creationism
East/West Religions
Time Scales
Summary
Chapter 9 Homework
Carl Ewig has had many years of experience in both scientific research and scientific education. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Rochester with a major in chemistry and minor in physics. He also holds a Ph.D. in chemical physics from the University of California in Santa Barbara. For eighteen years he was a member of the Chemistry faculty at Vanderbilt University, doing basic research in theoretical chemistry and quantum theory, as well as teaching several undergraduate and graduate chemistry courses. He has more recently served in industry as senior manager for leading companies in San Diego developing computational software for pharmaceutical research, and subsequently was also Senior Scientific Consultant for IBM corporation. Now he is doing what he enjoys most beyond doing basic scientific research, which is teaching undergraduate students about science. He is currently an instructor at Grossmont College in San Diego, California, where he teaches the course entitled Introduction to Scientific Thought.
Designed to be the basis for a science course intended to fulfill a general education science requirement in a variety of different programs...
The content of this publication is presented in a format ideal for active classroom instruction. This publication also provides convenience and value to remote instruction by implementing all the key instructional content while presenting minimal requirements for students’ computer data transmission and display.
Welcome
Introduction
Objectives
Acknowledgement
CHAPTER 1. What is Science?
What Is Data?
Measurement and Uncertainty
Accuracy vs. Precision
The Nature of Science
Laws and Theories of Nature
Solving a problem
Scientific Laws and Theories
The Scientific Method
Quantifying
Data Tables and Graphs
Example of Graphing Dependent and Independent Variables
Connecting Data to Laws and Theories by Logic
Thinking Like a Scientist
Assumptions of Science
Proper Science
Other Characteristics of Science
Issues
Limitations of Science
Questions Science Can Answer
Questions Science Cannot Answer
So What is "Settled Science"?
Chapter 1 Homework
CHAPTER 2. The Scientific Method
What is NOT Science?
Scientific Method
A Scientific Approach to Problem Solving
The Scientific Method
Steps in the Scientific Method
Controls and Variables
Data Collection and Interpretation
Data Collection
Conclusion
Retest
Review
Solving a Problem
Using Logic to Draw Conclusions from the Data
Control Samples
Chapter 2 Homework
Chapter 3. The History of Early Science
Some Early Beginnings
Four Periods in the Development of Modern Science
Babylonians/Sumerians
Democritus, Greece (c. 460 – c. 370 BCE)
Aristarchus of Samos, Greece (c. 230 – c. 310 BCE)
Archimedes, Sicily (287 – 212 BCE)
Aristotle, Greece (384 – 322 BCE)
The Geocentric Model
Ending the “Dark Ages”
During the Middle Ages (roughly the 5th to the 15th century) Science in the West
The Malleus Maleficarum
A Brief History of Modern Western Science
Roger Bacon, “The First Scientist,” England (1214-1292 CE)
William of Ockham, England (1285-1349 CE)
Hippocrates, Founder of Medicine, Greece (460-375 BCE)
Paracelsus, (Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), Switzerland (1493-1541 CE)
William Gilbert, England (1540-1603)
Ptolemy, Egypt (90 - 170 CE)
Copernicus, Poland (1473-1543)
Tycho Brahe, Denmark (1546-1601)
Johannes Kepler, Germany (1571-1630)
What Is an Ellipse?
The Lead-Up to Modern Science
Francis Bacon, England (1561-1626)
Galileo Galilei, Italy (1564 – 1642)
William Harvey, England (1578-1657)
Robert Boyle, England (1627-1691)
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Holland (1632-1723)
Sir Isaac Newton, England (1642-1727)
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Corpuscular Theory of Light (1704)
Wave Theory of Light
Joseph Priestley, England (1733-1804)
Henry Cavendish, England (1731-1810)
Antoine Lavoisier, France (1743 – 1794)
Carl Linnaeus, Sweden (1707-1778)
Robert Hooke, England (1635-1703)
Michael Faraday, England (1791 – 1867)
Scientific Development from 1543 to 1619
Scientific Development from 1628 to 1662
Scientific Development from 1666 to 1789
Summary of Trends in Science before 1900
Chapter 3 Homework
Chapter 4. Paradigm Shifts Begin
Science Advances by Paradigm Shifts
Paradigms
Paradigm Shifts Throughout History
Definitions
Requirements for a Change in Paradigm
Atomic Theory of Matter
John Dalton, England (1766-1844)
Quantum Theory
Electromagnetic Radiation
Max Planck, Germany (1858-1947)
Other New Paradigms: Evolution and Beyond
Charles Darwin, England (1809-1882), The Theory of Evolution
Summary
Louis Pasteur, France (1822-1895), Germ Theory of Disease
The New Physics
Quantum Theory of Matter
Entering the 20th Century
The Original Atom
The Bohr Atom
The Dual Particle/Wave Nature of Matter
Madame Curie (Maria Salomea Skłodowska), Poland/France (1867 – 1934)
Albert Einstein, Germany/US (1879-1955)
Chapter 4 Homework
Chapter 5. How We Know
Designing an Experiment
Making Observations
Topic: How to Make Systematic Observations
Criteria for Statistical Scientific Results
Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice
Logical Fallacies in Interpreting Results
Junk Science
Other Types of Common Fallacies
Imagination and Confounding
Common Fallacies in Science/Religion
Confounding
Global Warming: An Example of the Importance of Eliminating Multiple Confounding Variables
A Few Things to Think About
Chapter 5 Homework
Chapter 6. Ethics in Science
Some Definitions
Topics in This Chapter
Morality and Ethics
Metaethics
Normative Ethics
Rules and Rights (Codes of Ethics)
Precedents
Internal Scientific Ethics
Guidelines
Ways to Avoid Internal Ethics Issues
Some Hypothetical Case Histories
External Scientific Ethics
Topics in This Chapter
Two Views of Ethics in Science
Ethical Dilemma: Practice of Modern Medicine
There are Many Different Kinds of “Benefit” to a Patient
Ethical Dilemma: Eugenics
Ethical Dilemma: What Is a “Person”?
Ethical Dilemma: Direction of Medical Scientific Research
Ethical Dilemma: When, if Ever, is it Ethical to Experiment on People?
Ethical Dilemma: Chemical and Biological Weapons
Ethical Dilemma: Nuclear Weapons
A Few Things to Think About
Chapter 6 Homework
Chapter 7. What is Nonscience?
The Nature of the Problem
Categories of Questionable Science
What is Nonscience?
False Beliefs and Weaselings
What Is Nonscience?
Some Other Common Examples of Beliefs Contradicted or Not Supported by Facts
Some Other Common Examples of Beliefs Not Supported by Facts
Weasel Words
The Precautionary Principle
Nature of the Issue
Questions
Invoking the Precautionary Principle Requires Three Conditions to Be Met:
PP Opposition
Precautionary Principle Criticisms
PP Supporters
Some Current Potentially Harmful Examples
Chapter 7 Homework
Chapter 8. Antiscience and Pseudoscience
Brief History of Antiscience and Some Examples
Examples of Antiscience
Modern Antiscience
Skepticism versus Antiscience
Basics of Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Some Ancient Examples
Marks of Modern Pseudoscience
Designing a Debunking Experiment
The Attractions of Pseudoscience
Other Attractions of Pseudoscience
Borderline Cases and Vindications
Borderline Cases
Ludwig Boltzmann, Austria (1844-1906)
Alfred Wegener, Germany (1880 - 1930)
Vindication
Chapter 8 Homework
Chapter 9. Science and Religion
Definitions and Ideas
Review: What Is Science?
What Do We Mean by Religion?
Recall Some Common Fallacies in Science/Religion
Some Definitions
Modern Religions of the World
Conflicts and Synthesis
Fundamentalism
Creationism
East/West Religions
Time Scales
Summary
Chapter 9 Homework
Carl Ewig has had many years of experience in both scientific research and scientific education. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Rochester with a major in chemistry and minor in physics. He also holds a Ph.D. in chemical physics from the University of California in Santa Barbara. For eighteen years he was a member of the Chemistry faculty at Vanderbilt University, doing basic research in theoretical chemistry and quantum theory, as well as teaching several undergraduate and graduate chemistry courses. He has more recently served in industry as senior manager for leading companies in San Diego developing computational software for pharmaceutical research, and subsequently was also Senior Scientific Consultant for IBM corporation. Now he is doing what he enjoys most beyond doing basic scientific research, which is teaching undergraduate students about science. He is currently an instructor at Grossmont College in San Diego, California, where he teaches the course entitled Introduction to Scientific Thought.