CHAPTER 1: THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

A. THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD VIEW

K-2
• When a science investigation is done the way it was done before...
• Science investigations generally work the same way in different places.

3-5

• Results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same...

6-8

• When similar investigations give different results...
• Scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new information...
• Some scientific knowledge is very old and yet is still applicable today.
• Some matters cannot be examined usefully in a scientific way...

9-12

• Scientists assume that the universe is a vast single system...
• From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view...
• No matter how well one theory fits observations...

B. SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

K-2
• People can often learn about things around them by just observing...
• Tools such as thermometers, magnifiers, rulers, or balances...
• Describing things as accurately as possible is important in science...
• When people give different descriptions of the same thing...

3-5

• Scientific investigations may take many different forms...
• Results of scientific investigations are seldom exactly the same...
• Scientists' explanations about what happens in the world come partly from...
• Scientists do not pay much attention to claims about how something...

6-8

• Scientists differ greatly in what phenomena they study and how they...
• If more than one variable changes at the same time in an experiment...
• What people expect to observe often affects what they actually do observe...

9-12

• Investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore...
• Hypotheses are widely used in science for choosing what data to pay attention...
• Sometimes, scientists can control conditions in order to obtain evidence...
• There are different traditions in science about what is investigated and how...
• Scientists in any one research group tend to see things alike, so even groups...
• In the short run, new ideas that do not mesh well with mainstream ideas...
• New ideas in science are limited by the context in which they are conceived...

C. THE SCIENCE ENTERPRISE

K-2
• Everybody can do science and invent things and ideas.
• In doing science, it is often helpful to work with a team and to share findings...
• A lot can be learned about plants and animals by observing them closely...

3-5

• Science is an adventure that people everywhere can take part in...
• Clear communication is an essential part of doing science...
• Doing science involves many different kinds of work...

6-8

• Important contributions to the advancement of science, mathematics, and...
• Until recently, women and racial minorities, because of restrictions...
• No matter who does science and mathematics or invents things, or when or...
• Scientists are employed by colleges and universities, business and industry...
• In research involving human subjects, the ethics of science require...
• Computers have become invaluable in science because they speed up...
• Accurate record-keeping, openness, and replication are essential...

9-12

• The early Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Hindu, and Arabic cultures...
• Modern science is based on traditions of thought that came together...
• Progress in science and invention depends heavily on what else is happening...
• Science disciplines differ from one another in what is studied, techniques used...
• Current ethics in science hold that research involving human subjects...
• Scientists can bring information, insights, and analytical skills to bear...
• The strongly held traditions of science, including its commitment to peer...
• Funding influences the direction of science by virtue of the decisions...