Scientific Attitudes and Benildean Core Values

Bill Gates
Chairman of Microsoft, the

software company he founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Bill_Gates)

John Dalton
He is best known for his

pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory (http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/John_Dalton)

Aristotle
Father of Biology Classified plants and

animals into two kingdom schemes. Regarded life as a hierarchy.

Mark Zuckerberg
an American

computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chief executive and president

Barry Commoner

One of Commoner's lasting legacies is his four laws of ecology, as written in The Closing Circle in 1971. The four laws are: 1. Everything is Connected to Everything Else. There is one ecosphere for all living organisms and what affects one, affects all. 2. Everything Must Go Somewhere. There is no "waste" in nature and there is no away to which things can be thrown. 3. Nature Knows Best. Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but such change in a natural system is, says Commoner, likely to be detrimental to that system. 4. There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. Exploitation of nature will inevitably involve the conversion of resources from useful to useless forms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Comm oner)

Scientific traits or attitudes

Creativity
Curiosity Critical outlook Open-mindedness Thoroughness Keen powers of observation Patience Perseverance

Scientific method
The way in which scientists solve a

scientific problem refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientif ic_method)

Steps in Solving a Problem

Defining the Problem

Make an observation

(using the senses) direct observation or indirection observation Asking HOW and WHY questions

Collecting background information

Information from

books, periodicals and internet Interview scientists (expert in a particular field)

Formulating Hypothesis
A proposed answer to

the question An intellectual guess or hutch A statement that can be tested

Testing the Hypothesis

Conducting an experiment Two variables

Independent variable/condition that is CHANGED Dependent variable/condition that responds to the independent variable Two groups Experimental group - exposed to independent variable Control group - not exposed to changes in the independent and used as a standard of comparison

Making and Recording Observations

May be presented as

diagram, tables, graphs, photographs, or written observations It show how the experiment was planned How it was executed What materials and equipment were sued and how long it took.

Drawing conclusions
This is the answer to the

scientific question based on DATA It also answers the hypothesis When a hypothesis explains how an event occurs, it becomes a SCIENTIFIC LAW OR PRINCIPLE. When it explains WHY events occur it becomes a THEORY.