Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
Character Witness
What characterizes science?
• Science is the systematic study of natural events
and conditions.
• In general, all scientific subjects can be broken
down into three areas—life science, Earth science,
and physical science.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
What characterizes science?
• Life science, or biology, is the study of living
things.
• Earth science, or geology, is the study of the
surface and interior of Earth.
• Physical science includes physics and chemistry,
which involve the study of nonliving matter and
energy.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
What characterizes science?
• All branches of science have some characteristics
in common.
• The study of science requires openness and
review. Whatever information one scientist
collects, others must be able to see and comment
upon.
• All scientific ideas must be testable and
reproducible.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
What characterizes science?
• Scientific evidence must be open for all to
observe. It must be measurable and not just one
person’s opinion or guess.
• Empirical evidence includes observations and
measurements. It includes the data people gather
and test to evaluate scientific explanations.
• The scientist may use specialized tools to make
observations and take measurements.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
“Give me an explanation …”
What is a scientific explanation?
• A scientific explanation provides a description of
how a process in nature occurs.
• Scientific explanations are based on observations
and data.
• Beliefs or opinions that are not based on
explanations that can be tested are not scientific.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
What is a scientific explanation?
• Scientists may start developing an explanation by
examining all of the empirical evidence they have.
• Then they think logically about how all this
evidence fits together.
• The explanation they propose must fit all the
available evidence.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
What is a scientific explanation?
• Often, other scientists evaluate the explanation by
testing it for themselves.
• The additional observations and tests may provide
data that further support the explanation.
• If the results do not support the explanation, the
explanation is rejected or modified and retested.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
How is a scientific explanation
evaluated?
• First, look at your empirical evidence. Think of all
the evidence you could gather to support the
explanation.
• Second, consider if the explanation is logical, and
whether it contradicts any other evidence.
• Third, identify tests you can do to support your
ideas.
• Finally, evaluate the explanation.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
Common Habits
What is involved in scientific work?
• Science and the people who study it are diverse.
However, scientists have some characteristics in
common.
• Scientists are curious, creative, and careful
observers. They are also logical, skeptical, and
objective.
• When you use these habits of mind, you are
thinking like a scientist.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
What is involved in scientific work?
• Scientists make careful observations. They
observe with their senses and with scientific tools.
• Scientists are curious about the world around
them and the things they observe.
• Scientists are creative. They use their
imaginations to come up with new explanations,
experiments, and solutions.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
What is involved in scientific work?
• Scientists are logical. They use evidence and
careful reasoning to develop explanations.
• Scientists are skeptical. They do not immediately
accept claims, but they ask questions and
evaluate the claims.
• Scientists are objective. They set aside their
personal feelings, moods, and beliefs when
evaluating something.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
“Space Aliens Built the Pyramids”
How is pseudoscience similar to and
different from science?
• Pseudoscience is a belief or practice that is
based on incorrectly applied scientific methods.
• Pseudoscience can seem like real science, but
pseudoscientific ideas are based on faulty logic
and are supported by claims that can’t be tested.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
How is pseudoscience similar to and
different from science?
• Both science and pseudoscience often involve
topics related to the natural world.
• Pseudoscientific claims can sound logical.
Pseudoscience uses technical language or
scientific-sounding terms.
• Both science and pseudoscience claim to be
supported by empirical evidence.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
How is pseudoscience similar to and
different from science?
• Unlike science, pseudoscience does not use
accepted scientific methods.
• The evidence supporting pseudoscientific claims
may be vague or lack any measurements.
• Some pseudoscientific claims are not testable, and
others are supported only by personal
experiences.
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Unit 1 Lesson 1 What Is Science?
How is pseudoscience similar to and
different from science?
• Pseudoscientists may claim that results not proven
false must be true. This is faulty logic.
• Scientists must offer evidence for their
conclusions. In contrast, pseudoscientists ask
skeptics to prove their claims false.
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