The Toolbox of Science

							The Toolbox of Science
           But First……...
• What is Science?
                 Science
• Science is a method of learning about our
  natural world.
• Science is also the collected knowledge that
  has been gained by studying our natural
  world.
            Science Skills
• Making an Observation
            Science Skills
• Making an Observation
• Classifying Data
              Science Skills
• Making an Observation
• Classifying Data
  – Data is information you collect as you observe
    something.
            Science Skills
• Making an Observation
• Classifying Data
            Science Skills
• Making an Observation
• Classifying Data
• Modeling and Simulation
              Science Skills
•   Making an Observation
•   Classifying Data
•   Modeling and Simulation
•   Measuring
              Science Skills
•   Making an Observation
•   Classifying Data
•   Modeling and Simulation
•   Measuring
•   Analyzing Data
              Science Skills
•   Making an Observation
•   Classifying Data
•   Modeling and Simulation
•   Measuring
•   Analyzing Data
•   Making a Prediction
       The Scientific Method
• Make careful observations of nature.
• Form a hypothesis to explain a specific
  phenomenon or event.
  – a possible explanation.
        The Scientific Method
• Perform experiments to replicate and
  understand the phenomenon.
  – Variable
     • Factors that can be changed in an experiment.
  – Manipulated Variable
     • Variable that is changed to test a hypothesis.
  – Responding Variable
     • Variable that is changed as a result of the
       experiment
       The Scientific Method
• Gather evidence through experimentation to
  support, reject, or modify their hypothesis.
       The Scientific Method
• Repeat these steps until the weight of
  evidence indicates a sound hypothesis.
       The Scientific Method
• Create a theory based on a sound hypothesis
  that has not been proven false by
  experimentation.
        The Scientific Method
• Accept a theory as a law, if it is proven to
  be a non-varying phenomenon.
               The SI system
• Known as the International System of Units
  – So……..why not IS?
     • Well, it turns out it REALLY is the abbreviation for
       Systéme International d’Unités
        – Those silly French people.
              The SI system
• So much easier since it is based on base 10.




        – Wrenches
              The SI system
• Common Prefixes
  –   Mega      M     1000000
  –   kilo      k     1000
  –   hecto     h     100
  –   deka      da    10
  –   deci      d     0.1(one tenth)
  –   centi     c     0.01(one hundredth)
  –   milli     m     0.001(one thousandth)
  –   micro     m     0.000001(one millionth)
              The SI system
• Standard unit of measure for length is the
  meter (m)
  – 1 meter = 3.280 839 895 feet
  – The distance for the Earth to the Moon is
    384,403 km or…..384,403,000m
  – The average male American men’s height is
    177 cm, which is about 5 foot - 10 inches tall.
  – Women’s average height is 163 to164 cm
                The SI system
• Standard unit of measure for mass is the
  gram (g).
  – 1 gram = 0.035 273 962 ounce
  – The average 40-49 year old male has a mass of
    about 82.6kg or 182 pounds. Women - 67.7kg
  – 1 Sweet and Salty granola bar by Nature Valley
    has a mass of 35g or 1.2 ounces.
     • And 170 calories
        – and 9g of fat
               The SI system
• Standard unit of measure for volume is the
  liter (L).
  – 1 liter = 33.814 022 702 ounce [US, liquid]
  – One 12 ounce can of pop = 0.354 882 355 liter
     • or 354.882 354 75 milliliter.
              The SI system
• Standard unit of measure for temperature is
  the degree Celsius (C).
  – 1 degree Celsius = 33.8 degree Fahrenheit
  – 2 degree Celsius = 35.6 degree Fahrenheit
  – 3 degree Celsius = 37.4 degree Fahrenheit

  – But wait…...
               The SI system
• Converting F to Celsius
  – Co = 5/9(Fo - 32)
• Converting C to F
     • Fo = (9/5 Co) + 32


     • Average human body temperature is 37 °C
     • or 98.6 F
            Some Basic Skills
• Significant Digits
  – All non-zero digits in a number are significant.
     • 236.345    6 significant digits
     • 23         2 significant digits
         Significant Digits
– Zeros between other digits in a number are
  significant.
   • 40006     5 significant digits
   • 1.004     4 significant digits
         Significant Digits
– Zeros at the end of a decimal number are
  significant.
   • 40.100    5 significant digits
   • 1.00000   6 significant digits
         Significant Digits
– Zeros at the beginning of a number are NOT
  significant.
   • 0.000001   1 significant digits
   • 026        2 significant digits
                 Significant Digits
• What about these??
  – 13300
  – 220
  – 10


  – Who knows?
          Significant Digits
• In any calculation, the number of
  significant digits in the answer can only
  be as large as the smallest number of
  significant digits in any one of the
  numbers in the calculation.
                   Examples:

• 0.3467 + 0.123754 + 0.64 = 1.110454
  – Not so fast!
  – Using the significant digits rule: since 0.64 has
    only two significant digits, then the answer can
    have only two significant digits. The correct
    solution would be 1.1
           Significant Digits
• A common sense exception…
  – Let’s say I have 8 weights each with a mass of
    5.000 grams. Simple math would suggest that
    you should just multiply 8 times 5.000 like so.
    5.000 x 8 = 40……..But how many significant
    digits??
  – In this case, the 8 is a finite number with
    infinite significant digits. So the significant
    digits in 8 are ignored. It will be 40.00.
              Scientific Notation
• To write a number in scientific notation:
• Put the decimal after the first digit and drop
  the zeroes.
  – Let’s convert 2,340,000
  – So……….2,340,000 becomes
     • 2.34
         Scientific Notation
– Now count the spaces it took to get to the new
  decimal point.
   • 6 spaces
         Scientific Notation
– So, put it all together 2,340,000 becomes…
   • 2.34 x 10 6
         Scientific Notation
• To go the other way……
  – Let’s convert 0.0000000034
  – So………. 0.0000000034
  – 3.4
         Scientific Notation
– Now count the spaces it took to get to the new
  decimal point.
   • 9 spaces
         Scientific Notation
– So, put it all together 0.0000000034 becomes…
   • 3.4 x 10 -9
          Scientific Notation
• HOW TO CALCULATE:
• multiplication: multiply coefficients, add
  exponents.
•    (2.0 x 103) x (4.0 x 104) = 8.0 x 107
          Scientific Notation
• HOW TO CALCULATE:
• division: divide coefficients, subtract
  exponents.
• (7.5 x 106) x (2.5 x 102) = 3.0 x 104
          Scientific Notation
• HOW TO CALCULATE:
• addition: adjust powers of ten so two
  numbers are the same, then add.
• (6.2 x 102) + (3.3 x 103)
• (.62 x 103) + (3.3 x 103)= 3.92 x 103
          Scientific Notation
• HOW TO CALCULATE:
• subtraction: adjust powers often so two
  numbers are the same, then subtract.
• (8.7 x 105) - (2.1 x 104)
• (8.7 x 105) - (.21 x 105) = 8.49 x 105
       Accuracy and Precision
• Accuracy
  – The quality of being near to the true value.
      Accuracy and Precision
• Precision
  – The quality of being reproducible in amount or
    performance.