Week 17 Flashcards
What is science?
Knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws
Obtained and tested through the scientific method
What is the difference between testable and non-testable questions?
Testable - answered with specific activities
Non-testable - don’t have a definitive answer
E.g. testable: is the sky more blue on a clear summer than on a winter day
non-testable: why is the sky blue
What is a hypothesis?
Statement about the world, whose truth is being tested
What properties must a hypothesis have?
Precise and testable
Falsifiable - aka you can prove it’s wrong
What is wrong with the following hypotheses:
“If electrons were 10% less massive, no life would exist “
“Macs are better than PCs”
Not testable - can’t test against all life forms
Not falsifiable - a PC enthusiast would always be able to disagree
Who said hypotheses must be falsifiable, and when?
Karl Popper, 1959, in “The Logic of Scientific Discovery”
What are the 3 steps involved in conducting hypothesis-driven research?
- Frame a hypothesis
- Design and conduct experiments to test it
- See if correct or disproved
When is a hypothesis appropriate or inappropriate, and why?
Appropriate for small number of cases to decide between, e.g. which of a few drugs is better or something
Not good for vast number of possibilities, such as “The density of this rock is 0.1g/cm3”
“Measuring a Value” is a type of ___________ _________
Scientific research
“Measuring a function or relationship” is a type of _________ ___________
Scientific research
How is a function or relationship measured?
Control one variable (independent), measure the response in another (dependent), keep all the rest constant (actually called control variables)
Often, measured functions/relationships can be linked to an original _________
hypothesis
What is “constructing a model”?
Type of scientific research
What is the purpose of constructing a model?
Can be used to predict outcomes
Can form the basis of new models which extend the original
“Predicting London’s weather for next week” is an example of what type of scientific research?
Constructing a model