What Is Science?
Stop and Think #1
1. Early in the chapter you learned that often when you do science, you are
trying to solve a mystery. Describe how you could use the methods of
scientific inquiry to investigate the mystery of a crime.
You can use the same method of scientific inquiry to solve crime.
• Make observations
• Check historical knowledge (what happened, who did it, did anyone see it)
• Make a prediction (key suspect)
• Test prediction by gathering evidence
• Propose an explanation (make an arrest)
• Consider alternative explanations, (listen to the defense)
• Test explanations with more evidence
Stop and Think #2
2. According to Essential Features of Scientific Inquiry, scientists are not quick
to proclaim something as fact. How certain are you of the results from
investigating the mystery sports drink? Would you be willing to publish your
results as fact why or why not?
• Even though you may feel the investigation was a success, how many times was
it conducted?
• With more tests scientists, you, can be more certain of the results before
publication
Stop and Think #3
3. In this reading, the process of scientific inquiry is described using the
analogy of a road map
a. In your notebook, complete the analogy
b. Why is the roadmap helpful? Use the info recorded to help answer the question.
Feat. of road map
Is like…..
Aspect of sci. inquiry
because
A detour
Is like…
Getting unexpected results
When you encounter things
you do not expect, you change
the way you approach your
investigation
Circling back on a portion of
the road to look for a turn
Is like…
Adjusting the design of an
investigation
You return to your design and
adjust it to get the results
needed to answer the question
Trying diff. routes
Is like…
Running diff. tests to see
which explanation makes
more sense
There are many ways to
gather data to answer the
same question
Encountering Car trouble and
going home
Is like…
Going back to the design
of your investigation
Sometimes you have to
change your design to collect
the data you need to answer
the question
Abandoning your car
Is like…
Abandoning the question
Sometimes data collected
cannot answer the question
Starting your trip and changing
the destination
Is like…
Changing your question after
beginning your investigation
The data you collect may
lead to a more important
question
Part II
Where’s the Evidence?
Demo – Distillation Set Up
Questions:
What color is the distillate?
Does that surprise you?
What does the distillate smell like?
Do you think this is pure water or do you think something else is
still in the fluid?
Sketch:
Distillation Demo setup. Add written details as needed to describe how
the distillation process works.
A Test for the Presence of Water:
Cobalt Chloride Paper tests for the presence of water. For instance, home
inspectors can use it by placing it against concrete slab foundations under
your house to see if moisture is collecting there (bad news). Cobalt
Chloride paper turns from blue to pink in the presence of water. To provide
a control, acetone (which has NO water) can be used to observe how the
paper reacts to a liquid with no water.
Demo:
Cobalt chloride paper with acetone.
Class Discussion:
If we test our solution with cobalt chloride paper and it turns pink...
What does it tell us?
What does it NOT tell us?