Chapter 1

Science Process and Research Skills

Objective:

The student will relate and use terms and processes employed in scientific research.

1. Science- is what people do to find out about the world around them.
2. Uses of science

1. Scientific method

1. State the problem
2. Make an educated guess, or hypothesis, about the answer based on what is known about the problem
3. Design and conduct an experiment to test the hypothesis.
4. Analyze the data collected during the experiment.
5. State the conclusion.
6. ( not a rigid set of rules )

1. Hypothesis- is supported by experimental observations
2. theory- an explanation of a scientific phenomena
3. Law- a profound theory that describing an important scientific concept.
4. A hypothesis becomes a law when backed by experimental evidence.

1. Metric units

1. Base units

1. Derived units- are a combination of base units

1. Area- is the surface of a plane

1. Area = length 6 width
2. common units are cm², m², and km²

1. Volume-is the space taken up by an object.

1. Volume = length 6 width6 height.
2. Common units are cm³, m³, and km³

1. volume displacement is one way to determine volume of irregular shaped object.

1. total volume
2. volume of water
3. subtract to get volume of object

1. Density-is the mass per unit volume of an object.

1. Density = mass / volume
2. Density units g/cm³, g/ml, kg/l or kg/m³
3. Densities of common materials

1. Substances with a density less than 1 will float and more than one will sink.

1. Common Metric Prefixes

1. Scientific notation- a way to manage really big or really small numbers

1. m x 10ⁿ
2. when 1£ m > 10 and n is a whole number
3. when m gets bigger n gets smaller

1. Relationships between data

1. Direct proportional- when the two variables do the same thing either ( increase or decrease )
2. Inverse proportional- when the two variables do opposite ( one increases and the other decreases.

1. Equipment-specialized instruments used to help make observation

0. flask
1. funnel
2. Beaker
3. test tube
4. thermometer
5. graduated cylinder
6. triple beam balance
7. test tube holder

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Objective:

The student will define the research problem.

1. Selecting the problem- must be stated so that only one variable is measured
2. Identifying the variable

1. independent variable- (or manipulated) a set of conditions that will be changed by the researcher
2. dependent variable- (or responding variable) a set of conditions that may or may not vary as the independent is changed.

1. Experimental groups

1. experimental group- a group of samples that is tested by manipulating a variable.
2. Control group- is exactly like the experimental group except that no variable is manipulated.

Objective:

The student will select and use appropriate reference sources and retrieval systems.

1. Areas of information and Types of information found in given areas.

1. Card catalog- Who knows any more?
2. reference materials- a method for basic research
3. Internet- new and most current also including old data.
4. e-mail- contact with a professional in a given area

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Objective:

The student will analyze, evaluate, and present information.

1. During experiment - observations are recorded
2. Analysis of data -

1. using graphs, tables or charts
2. summarized in the conclusion

1. Experimental report - includes all information about the experiment

1. statement of the problem
2. material
3. procedures
4. data
5. graphs
6. discussion of results
7. conclusion