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1.
2.
You want to determine if a new diet medication will help rats to lose
weight. Why is it necessary to have two sets of rats?
A. If some die, you have some left.
B. Some may be picky eaters.
C. To compare rats taking the new medication to rats without the
medication.
D. To compare the rats old diet (the food they eat) to the new food
they eat.
The Nature
of
Science
2010 Virginia Science SOL
Learning Goal:
Learning Scale:
4.0 Through independent work beyond what was taught in class:
develop a strategy to solve a scientific problem.
use diagrams and models to represent and solve a scientific problem.
UNDERSTAND
ABLE
Example: this way of thinking precludes the actions of supernatural beings as
causative agents of natural phenomena and helps to focus research on testable
questions.
SCIENCE DEMANDS
EVIDENCE
For example, data about the efficacy of a new cancer treatment drug would
require a formal experiment protocol using a control and levels of the
independent variable.
SCIENCE IS A BLEND OF
LOGIC
AND
IMAGINATI
ON
Example: Albert Einstein once said logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will
take you everywhere.
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IS
DURAB
LE
For example, our understanding of planetary motion is derived from the work of
Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton - each contributing a bit of information to
the planetary puzzle.
Scientific Knowledge is
Durable
Scientific ideas are continually tested.
Ideas that are able to withstand the
scrutiny of the scientific community
form the foundations of our current
understandings of the natural world and
how it functions.
Examples:
Theory
1. Theory of Natural Selection
2. Theory of Evolution
Laws
1. Force = mass x acceleration
(F=ma)
2. Density = mass/velocity (d=m/v)
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IS
SUBJECT
TO
CHANGE
Example: Atomic model plumb pudding model to Bohr Model to the modern
quantum cloud model
BIAS
Example: In scientific community there are ethical practices, such as peer and public
review, which guarantee that scientific endeavors are carried out under universally
accepted standards around the world
The Nature of
Science
The natural world is understandable
Science demands evidence
Science is a blend of logic and
imagination
Scientific knowledge is durable
Scientific knowledge is subject to change
Scientists attempt to identify and avoid
bias
Evolution of Characters