Title: Unit 1 Learning Module
Course: BIS 105 Environmental Biology > Section: BIS 105 Environmental Biology

Unit 1 Learning Module

Scientific Principles
Copyright
Adapted from CK-12 Foundation, Dana Desonie .
Adapted from CK-12 Foundation - Biology I Honors, Niahm Gray-Wilson .
Adapted from U of I Open Source Textbook. Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation. Connexions. 2 May 2012 http://cnx.org/content/col11325/1.38/ .
UCCP. AP Environmental Science. Connexions. 25 Sep. 2009 http://cnx.org/content/col10548/1.2/.

Introduction

The goal of science is to learn how nature works by observing the physical world, and to understand it through research and experimentation. Science is a distinctive way of learning about the natural world through observation, inquiry, formulating and testing hypotheses, gathering and analyzing data, and reporting and evaluating findings. We are all part of an amazing and mysterious phenomenon called "Life" that thousands of scientists everyday are trying to better explain. And it's surprisingly easy to become part of this great discovery! All you need is your natural curiosity and an understanding of how people use the process of science to learn about the world.

Goals of Science

Science involves objective, logical, and repeatable attempts to understand the principles and forces working in the natural universe. Science is from the Latin word, scientia, which means “knowledge.” Good science is an ongoing process of testing and evaluation. One of the intended benefits for students taking a biology course is that they will become more familiar with the scientific process.

Humans are naturally interested in the world we live in. Young children constantly ask "why" questions. Science is a way to get some of those “whys” answered.

There are many different areas of science, or scientific disciplines, but all scientific study involves:

- asking questions

- making observations

- relying on evidence to form conclusions

- being skeptical about ideas or results

Skepticism is an attitude of doubt about the truthfulness of claims that lack empirical evidence. Scientific skepticism, also referred to as skeptical inquiry, questions claims based on their scientific verifiability rather than accepting claims based on faith or anecdotes. Scientific skepticism uses critical thinking to analyze such claims and opposes claims which lack scientific evidence.

A Scientific View of the World

Science is based on the analysis of things that humans can observe either by themselves through their senses, or by using special equipment. Science therefore cannot explain anything about the natural world that is beyond what is observable by current means. The term supernatural refers to entities, events, or powers regarded as being beyond nature, in that such things cannot be explained by scientific means. They are not measurable or observable in the same way the natural world is, and so considered to be outside the realm of scientific examination.

When a natural occurrence which was once considered supernatural is understood in the terms of natural causes and consequences, it has a scientific explanation. For example, the flickering lights sometimes seen hovering over damp ground on still evenings or nights are commonly called Will-o'-the-wisp. This phenomena looks like a lamp or flame, and is sometimes said to move away if approached. A great deal of folklore surrounds the legend, such as the belief that the lights are lost souls or fairies attempting to lead travelers astray. However, science has offered several potential explanations for Will-o'-the-wisp from burning marsh gases to glowing fungi or animals that glow in a similar way to lightning bugs.

There is no fixed set of steps that scientists always follow and there is no single path that leads to scientific knowledge. There are, however, certain features of science that give it a very specific way of investigating something. You do not have to be a professional scientist to think like a scientist. Everyone, including you, can use certain features of scientific thinking to think critically about issues and situations in everyday life.

Science assumes that the universe is a vast single system in which the basic rules are the same, and thus nature, and what happens in nature, can be understood. Things that are learned from studying one part of the universe can be applied to other parts of the universe. For example, the same principles of motion and gravitation that explain the motion of falling objects on Earth also explain the orbit of the planets around the sun, and galaxies, as shown below. As more and more information and knowledge is collected and understood, scientific ideas can change, still scientific knowledge usually stands the test of time. Science, however, cannot answer all questions.

Nature Can Be Understood

Science presumes that events in the universe happen in patterns that can be understood by careful study. Scientists believe that through the use of the mind, and with the help of instruments that extend the human senses, people can discover patterns in all of nature that can help us understand the world and the universe.

Scientific Ideas Can Change

Science is a process for developing knowledge. Change in knowledge about the natural world is expected because new observations may challenge the existing understanding of nature. No matter how well one theory explains a set of observations, it is possible that another theory may fit just as well or better, or may fit a still wider range of observations. In science, the testing and improving of theories goes on all the time. Scientists know that even if there is no way to gain complete knowledge about something, an increasingly accurate understanding of nature will develop over time.

The ability of scientists to make more accurate predictions about the natural world, from determining how a cancerous tumor develops a blood supply, to calculating the orbit of an asteroid, provides evidence that scientists are gaining an understanding of how the world works.

Scientific Knowledge Can Stand the Test of Time

Continuity and stability are as much characteristics of science as change is. Although scientists accept some uncertainty as part of nature, most scientific knowledge stands the test of time. A changing of ideas, rather than a complete rejection of the ideas, is the usual practice in science. Powerful ideas about nature tend to survive, grow more accurate and become more widely accepted.

For example, in developing the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein did not throw out Issac Newton’s laws of motion but rather, he showed them to be only a small part of the bigger, cosmic picture. That is, the Newtonian laws of motion have limited use within our more general concept of the universe. For example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses the Newtonian laws of motion to calculate the flight paths of satellites and space vehicles.

Science Cannot Offer Answers to All Questions

There are many things that cannot be examined in a scientific way. There are, for instance, beliefs that cannot be proved or disproved, such as the existence of supernatural powers, supernatural beings, or the meaning of life. In other cases, a scientific approach to a question and a scientific answer may be rejected by people who hold to certain beliefs.

Scientists do not have the means to settle moral questions surrounding good and evil, or love and hate, although they can sometimes contribute to the discussion of such issues by identifying the likely reasons for certain actions by humans and the possible consequences of these actions.