HOMEWORK: Week of September 23
Read 3 short articles:
“What Science IS” written by biology professors at Indiana University.
“Does a Theory ever become a Fact?” written by Charles M. Winn
“Science as Falsification” written by Karl R. Popper
THEN….Answer the following questions for a discussion on Friday.
1. How can one determine if a scientific theory (such as Darwin’s theory of
evolution or Einstein’s theory of relativity) is “right”? What does the word “right”
mean in the context of science?
2. Can a scientific theory ever be proven to be true? Should we use the word
“proven” in science? What about scientific data – can it be “proven” to be
correct?
3. Given these limitations, why is science useful? Or is it?
4. What is the difference between a Theory and a Law or are they the same?
5. Will a Theory ever become a Law? Give an example to support your answer
6. What does empirical mean?
7. When is a theory true? Or when is a theory acceptable? Or are theories never
acceptable or true….explain
8. What is meant by “Science as Falsification”?
9. Can a theory be acceptable if it is not measurable or testable?
10. Can a theory be acceptable without every observing it, meaning do theories
exist on the non-observable?
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