Scientific Method (Inquiry)

1. Scientific Method (Inquiry)

2. What is the scientific method….. ? process The scientific method is a ______for answering questions.

3. What is Science? or True False Here are a few statements to test your current understanding of science!

4. Science can prove anything, solve any problem or answer any question. True or False? False Science actually attempts to disprove ideas (hypotheses). Science is limited strictly to solving problems about the physical and natural world.

5. Any study done carefully and based on observation is scientific. False • Science must follow certain rules. The rules of science make the scientific process as objective as is possible. Objective= Not influenced by feelings, interests and prejudices; UNBIASED vs. Subjective= Influenced by feelings, interests and prejudices; BIASED

6. Different scientists may get different solutions to the same problem. False True True

7. Understanding Experimental Design A process of discovery…

8. The Controversy Over Spontaneous Generation Problem: What causes tiny living things to appear in decaying broth? Spallazani’s Hypothesis:Microbes come from the air. Boiling will kill them. Needham’s Hypothesis: Spontaneous generation-Life forms arose from non-living matter. Experimental Designs with flaws John Needham Needham Open flask > Spallazani Closed flask > Lazzaro Spallanzani 1700’s

9. Louis Pastuer …disproved the idea of spontaneous generation of life. Louis Pasteur ended the debate with his famous swan-neck flask experiment, which allowed air to contact the broth. Microbes present in the dust were not able to navigate the winding bends in the neck of the flask. 1800’s Controlled all of the variables in the experiment--- GOOD EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

10. Soooo…what is good science? Objectivityis the key to good science. To be objective, experiments must be designed and conducted in a way that does not introduce bias into the study.

11. The Beginnings of Immunologyusing the scientific methodEdward Jenner and the first vaccine: Dr. Jenner was aware of farm workers' belief that if you had cowpox in the past, you wouldn’t get smallpox. COWPOX : Infectious disease that caused mild discomfort, aching, a few pustules, some swelling…symptoms that disappeared in a few days. No biggie. SMALLPOX: Infectious disease that caused massive disfigurement, sometimes blindness, and often death.

12. The Beginnings of ImmunologyEdwardJenner and the first vaccine. Question:Does having cowpox make a person immune to smallpox? Hypothesis: If someone is infected with cowpox, then they will be immune to smallpox because having cowpox keeps a person from getting smallpox. Experiment:Jenner made small incisions or punctures in arms of human subjects and rubbed in cowpox material (pus) in order to infect them with cowpox. Analysis & Conclusion: He saw that people that he infected with cow pox, when later exposed to smallpox, would get a little bit sick, but never come down with a full-blown case of smallpox. Cowpox infection prevents smallpox infection. Present Results / Peer Evaluation:At first his peers doubted the safety and value of his treatment, but eventually the importance of the cowpox inoculum was recognized. 1800’s – English physician

13. Vaccination was not without its critics. In this cartoon from 1802, the British satirist James Gillray implied that vaccination caused people to become part cow. Fun Fact

14. SCIENTIFIC METHOD The series of steps that scientists use to answer questions and solve problems is often called the scientific method. The scientific method is not a rigid procedure. Scientists may use all of the steps or just some of the steps of the scientific method. They may even repeat some of the steps. The goal of the scientific method is to come up with reliable answers and solutions.

15. Scientific Method (Inquiry) Publish

16. Observation Question • The scientific method starts with a question about something that is observed: • How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?

17. Hypothesis • A statement of an answer to a question or problem. • A good hypothesis is testable explanation. • If an experiment cannot be designed to test the hypothesis, it is untestable, and the investigation can go no further. If _ [I do this]__ then _[this]__ will happen___because_[why]__.

18. Experiment/Test Perhaps the most familiar way is to conduct a controlled experiment. A controlled experiment tests only one factor at a time. A controlled experiment has a control group and one or more experimental groups. All the factors for thecontrol and experimental groups are the same except for one factor, which is called the independentvariable. By changing only one factor, you can see the results or dependent variable of the changed variable .

19. Data-Analysis After completing an experiment observations, and collected data are evaluated. Tables and graphs are often used in this step to organize the data.

20. Conclusion Based on the analysis of the data conclude whether or not the results support the hypothesis. • Check for errors. • Investigate again • Make a new hypothesis

21. Publish • Results are verified by independent duplication and publication in a peer-reviewed journal • Independent duplication= Two or more scientists from different institutions investigate the same question separately and get similar results. • Peer-reviewed journal. = A journal that publishes articles only after they have been checked for quality byseveral expert, objective scientists from different institutions.

22. Scientific Theory vs. Law

23. Scientific Theory vs. Law THEORY Explanation for an observation or phenomena that is confirmed by a large amount of evidence or tests (experiments). Example: Germ theory of disease - Infectious diseases result from the action of microorganisms. LAW A statement of a scientific principle that appears to be without exception at the time it is made, and always works the same way under the same conditions; A scientific rule. Example: Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia) - every object either remains at rest or in continuous motion with constant speed unless acted upon by an outside force. Treponema pallidum - ♪ (Trep-o-neemah pal-lid-um)

24. So, what's the difference? A SCIENTIFICTHEORY - are typically non-mathematical. A SCIENTIFIC LAW - are often mathematically defined • Looking at things this way helps to explain, in part, why physics and chemistry have lots of "laws" whereas biology has few laws (and more theories). • In biology, it is very difficult to describe all the complexities of life with "simple" (relatively speaking!) mathematical terms.