Miller & Levine Biology Chapter 1.1 - What Is Science?

Miller & Levine Biology Chapter 1.1 - What Is Science?

• Science and our knowledge/understanding of why different things occur the way they do is a constantly shifting field, not a collection of unchanging facts or beliefs

• All scientific ideas should be tested, revised, and discussed over time

• Science is an organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the world 

  • Considered a “process” instead of a “thing”

  • Refers to a “database” of knowledge that other studies have collected over time 

• Key features include only dealing with the natural world, collecting evidence and data in organized and specific, orderly ways, and explaining based on evidence opposed to belief 

• The universe is a system composed of parts and processes that interact with one another

  • All things in the universe are governed by universal laws

  • The same natural laws apply no matter the object

  • One important goal of science is to provide explanations for events that occur in the natural world, and use those explanations to understand patterns and make predictions

• Scientific knowledge helps cure disease, place satellites, send instantaneous electronic communications, etc., but there’s still a lot that remains an unknown 

  • Because science is constantly changing, every new major discovery often brings more questions than answers which points studies in new and unexpected directions

  • Shows that science continues to advance over time 

  • Understanding what we don’t know is just as important as understanding what we do

• Science rarely “proves” anything in absolute terms but instead aims for the best understanding that current methods can reveal 

• Like trying to figure out why your car won’t start, there isn’t a single, cut-and-dried “scientific method”, but instead a style of investigation called scientific methodology

• This methodology involves observing and asking questions, making inferences and forming hypotheses, conducting controlled experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and making conclusions based on collected evidence 

  • Observing and asking questions = noticing and describing events in an organized way, thinking about an ordinary thing in a way that hasn’t been thought of before (which then leads to questions that haven’t been asked before) 

  • Inferring and forming a hypothesis = logical interpretation based on what scientists already know, combined with the use of creative imagination to test theory 

  • Designing controlled experiments = creating an experiment that keeps track of different factors that can change (variables like temperature, light, time, availability of nutrients) 

  • Collecting and analyzing data = detailed records of experimental observations that can either be quantitative (numbers, counting, measuring) or qualitative (characteristics, notes, observations that can’t be counted) 

  • Drawing conclusions = by using experimental data as evidence to support, refute, or revise the tested hypothesis, a valid conclusion is able to be made 

• Although, when experiments aren’t possible (like in animal behavior research), hypotheses can be tested through observation, investigation, and analyzation of collected data 

  • Ethics can also prevent certain types of experiments (especially on people) 

  • For research, studying larger groups of subjects is important so that individual genetic differences don’t produce untrue or misleading results

Important Vocabulary:

• Science: “Organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the natural world”

• Observation: “Process of noticing and describing events or processes in a careful, orderly way”

• Inference: “A logical interpretation based on prior knowledge and experience”

• Controlled experiment: “Experiment in which only one variable is changed”

• Independent variable: “Factor in a controlled experiment that is deliberately changed’ also called manipulated variable”

• Dependent variable: “Variable that is observed and that changes in response to the independent variable; also called the responding variable”

• Control group: “Group in an experiment that is exposed to the same conditions as the experimental group except for one independent variable”

• Data: “Evidence; information gathered from observations”                                                                                                 

• Hypothesis: “Possible explanation for a set of observations or possible to answer to a scientific question”