BIOLOGY 157:
LIFE SCIENCE: AN
ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH
(Introduction, Science, etc.)
TEXT & SYLLABUS
• Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry
and Applications. W. P. Cunningham and M.
A. Cunningham (4th ed.). 2008.
• REQUIRED
• READ syllabus packet before next class
• Lecture Topics, Text Readings, Exams
• Class materials also on my web site
www.lasalle.edu/~belzer
CLASS ATTENDANCE, ETC.
• Attendance EXPECTED (No ‘cuts’)
• PowerPoint materials are NOT a substitute
for class
• Class meets from 6:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
• Class STARTS promptly at 6:00 p.m.
• QUIZ at BEGINNING and/or END of most
classes -- Quizzes count for 1/2 of
participation grade
• Cell Phones (OFF / MUTE and AWAY!)
GRADE DETERMINATION
• EXAMS (5) --------------- 72%
– 4 regular semester
– final (45% comprehensive)
• PARTICIPATION ----- 8% (1/2 for quizzes)
• 2 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS and/or
PROJECTS --- 20% (8% and 12%)
• Letter Grade Limits
– plus/minus system
– 90 (A-), 80 (B-), 70 (C-), 60 (D-)
EXAMINATIONS
• Exam Format(s)?????
• What to study?????
• When to study?????
• How to study?????
A Simple Exercise
• Break into groups of 3
• What are the environmental 3 R’s?
• Define: Population, Ecology, Fauna,
Herbivore
• Give the complete scientific name for
humans.
• How long has our species been on earth?
• How many centimeters in a meter?
Compare / Contrast
Environmental Science & Ecology
• ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE:
an interdisciplinary field that studies
the interrelated issues of human
populations, resources and pollution.
• ECOLOGY:
the study of the interrelationships of
organisms AND the reciprocal
relationships between organisms and
their abiotic environment.
A Question
• Why do we want to know (= to
understand) about organisms and
their environment and their
interactions?
• Why do we want to know (= to
understand) about anything?
An Answer
The best answer might be:
• “To know (= to understand) is to
control.”
• IF we really understand something
then we have at least a chance of
using it to our benefit.
Can You Do Science?
• The answer is YES!
• ANYONE can!
• EVERYONE should!
What is 'SCIENCE'?
• Break out into your groups for a few
minutes and come up with ONE
answer from your group.
Science Defined (I)
• Definition #1 is an archaic one.
• Definition #2 is the one we will use
because the definition, in itself, just
about explains the so-called
“Scientific Method”.
Science Defined (II)
• 1) Knowledge, especially knowledge
gained through experience.
• 2) The observation, identification,
description, experimental
investigation, and explanation
of NATURAL phenomena.
Scientific Method (I)
• The method or pattern by which good
'science' is accomplished is a multi-step
process.
• Many sources will list a set number of steps.
• In reality it is more of a ‘flowing’ PROCESS
and the exact number of steps one defines
really doesn’t matter. However, generally it
has the following pattern:
Scientific Method (II)
• 1) OBSERVATION(s) of 'something’
• 2) INFERENCE -- One formulates a generalization
technically known as an HYPOTHESIS.
Laypersons usually refer to an hypothesis as a
THEORY, but theory really means something
different.
• 3) EXPERIMENTATION -- test the hypothesis
(generalization) by basing predictions on it
• 4) ANALYZE THE DATA
• 5) ACCEPT or REJECT the hypothesis
Scientific Method (III)
• IF the generalization holds up to reasonable
experimentation it is then called a THEORY
(usually referred to as a FACT by laypeople).
Scientists then accept this as a working 'truth'
(until evidence to the contrary is discovered).
• LAW - a theory that seems absolute
• IF a significant discrepancy arises between the
experimental results and the hypothesis, then we
must (?????) change the working hypothesis and
go through the process again.
Science and Technology are
NOT the same.
• SCIENCE:
essentially is a search for knowledge
about nature.
• TECHNOLOGY:
is the creation of new products and
processes which are supposed to improve
our efficiency, chances for survival,
comfort and quality of life.
Some Things About Science /
Scientists (I)
• What are some things we associate
with science / scientists?
• Come up with 3 or 4 things you
would associate with science /
scientists. Try to keep each ‘thing’
to one or two words.
Some Things About Science /
Scientists (II)
Among the terms that come to mind
might be:
objective, careful, persistent, technology,
mathematical, quantitative, prove, agree,
accurate, precise, logical, picky, focused,
nerdy, skeptical, reasoning.
Some Things About Science /
Scientists (III)
• 1) What can science PROVE?
• 2) Should all scientists agree?
• 3) Are scientists always objective?
• 4) QUANTITATIVE vs. QUALITATIVE
• 5) PRECISION vs. ACCURACY
• 6) TYPES OF REASONING used by scientists:
Deductive
Inductive
Some Things About Science /
Scientists (IV)
Quantitative
• usually very meaningful / useful
• numerical data such as 14.7 kilograms,
75 kilometers, 370 C.
Qualitative:
• usually not very meaningful / useful
• large, small, long, short, hot, cold, etc.
Precision and Accuracy are
NOT the same.
• Precision:
degree of exactness with which a
measurement is made (such as 19.427
kilometers from point A to point B)
• Accuracy
the extent to which the measurement
agrees with the accepted (= real?) value
TYPES OF REASONING
• DEDUCTIVE REASONING
(= syllogistic reasoning)
reason from a known principle to an
unknown, or from a premise to a logical
conclusion (general to specific or “top down”)
• INDUCTIVE REASONING
reason from particular facts or individual
cases to a general conclusion (“bottom up”)
What, if any, difference is there
between the way scientists work and
the way people work in other areas?
• Nothing done by scientists is
UNIQUE to science.
• IF there is a difference, it is one of
degree.
“Types” of Science
• MAINSTREAM (= CONSENSUS or SOUND)
SCIENCE:
that which has sufficient data and is generally
accepted by the scientific community
• FRONTIER SCIENCE:
that which, at the present time, does not have
sufficient evidence for it to make it generally
acceptable (but it may get that in the future)
• PSEUDO-SCIENCE (= ?? QUACKERY or
BALONEY ??):
ideas which not only lack support but may even
have evidence against them
DEMONSTRATION OF THE
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
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About Terminology
• A specialized and fixed terminology IS
necessary:
• It allows us to communicate more easily
and accurately!
• Natural vs. Not Natural ??
• Theory vs. Hypothesis
• Good vs. Bad ??
Gaia Hypothesis I
• Gaia (also spelled Gaea)
from Greek mythology, the earth
personified as a goddess (“Mother Earth”)
• The idea has surfaced numerous times.
• James Lovelock; Lynn Margulis
• ?????? The earth is a giant self-regulating
creature. ??????
Gaia Hypothesis II
• The earth functions LIKE a giant organism.
• Living things have changed the earth AND its
abiotic environment.
• Living things assist in maintaining the abiotic
environment.
• Everything is tied together. Anything that
happens in one place has repercussions in
other places.
ADDITIONAL things from chapter 1 for
YOU to investigate
• Law of Parsimony
• Empiricism
• Blind and Double Blind Studies
• Paradigm (can you think of some that were accepted in
the past but not now)
• Types of THINKING (p. 11)
• Which idea (Biocentric Conservation or Utilitarian
Conservation) most closely follows Genesis in the Bible?