Scientific Method & Measurement
Doing science means trying to figure out the answers to questions you have about the world around you. Like the Mythbusters are doing here on a beach. This is what happens when you challenge people try to build their own working personal hovercraft.
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Killer Laundry, Episode 10.
Science can include strange things, like collecting dog urine, as well as awesome stuff like explosions. But exploding dog urine? That combination sounds, well, rather implausible. Yet, the Mythbusters test it anyway. And Buster does an awesome Tasmanian devil impersonation.
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If you saw the Mythbusters yesterday, this picture makes perfect sense. If not, you are probably feeling confused right now, and a little concerned about what you've gotten into for this class. What IS this class, anyway? How is science different than any of the other subjects you study?
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Click below to read "What is science?"
Wait. What? Why do we have to learn about this? Well, there are SOME students who do things in the restroom here that I really hope they don't do at home. Like flushing. There are also some things we want to make sure you know about how to stay clean and not get dangerous bacteria on stuff. For each of the pictures below, think about if it shows things you should or should not do in the restroom, and why. But before we begin, click on the link below to find out what happens if an astronaut has to use the restroom on the moon....
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With an experiment, you are trying to figure out what might happen if you do something. Then, you try to explain why it did (or didn't) work. Like drinking radioactive sodium to see how fast it will circulate in your blood stream.
"Excuse me. Do you have this in fruit punch flavor?"
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Which pig do you think will win the race? Why? Think about all of the things that could happen between the time this picture was taken, and the finish line. Perhaps the lead pig gets hungry and leaves to find food, or trips, allowing a pig further behind to go past. All you can do is make a prediction, then watch what happens. The same thing is true for an experiment. You try to guess what will happen, then do the experiment and see if you were right or wrong.
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You are going to do a lab with marbles and ramps of different shapes. You will need to predict which ramp you think will be fastest before you roll them down the ramps. And, you will need to figure out how to start all of the marbles rolling at exactly the same time.
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So, you've finished doing your first lab. You needed the use of some of your senses (sight and touch) to be able to do it, and you needed specialized equipment (the ramps). With the assignment below, draw and describe examples of scientists using each of their 5 senses to do science stuff. Then, draw scientists using 3 different pieces of equipment or tools during their experiments.
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Click below to read "How science works."
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ... a ... a ... Oh. It's a bird.
Scientists make observations about the world around them, using their senses. These observations can spark ideas about experiments. Often, specialized equipment is used as part of observing, such as binoculars or telescopes to see things that are far away, or microscopes to see things that are too small to see with just one's eyes.
In this picture, students are using binoculars. If you look closely, you can see that one of the students has what appears to be notes or a field guide hanging in a bag. For bird watchers, this would probably be a list (with pictures) of birds commonly found in the area.
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Once a scientist observes something, they should record their observations. Observations do not just need to be about living things, either. In this picture, the scientist could be recording temperatures, noting that there is snow on the ground, or describing rocks.
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This movie is famous for having a giant carnivorous (alien) plant as one of its stars. You can watch a trailer for it by clicking on the movie poster. Prepare yourself for singing.
The lab you will be doing does involve making observations about plants, but you don't have to worry about being eaten by them. You will be using several of your senses to make observations about succulents, which are like cacti, but without the spikes.
Want to see more horrors from the movie? The link below will take you to a page with photos of some incredible Lego designs that recreate certain famous scenes.
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Is the diver making observations of the shark, or is the shark observing the diver?
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As it would be a little expensive to fly all of you to South Africa for field work, you'll be watching great white sharks leaping into the air from the safety of your classroom. Instead of from a rather small boat.
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Science is not always just labwork. Sometimes you need to be able to read about science, too. By reading, you will be able to come up with new ideas to test, as well as learning more about subjects that interest you.
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I'll bet I can think of the question you have in your head right now while you are looking at this picture. Yup. Pretty positive that I can do that.
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When a new species is discovered, scientists will have a lot of questions. The crab you see here was discovered in 2006, deep on the ocean floor, living near active hydrothermal vents. Inspired by the bristles coating its arms, scientists decided to call it a Yeti Crab.
What the heck is a Yeti? Click on the link below to see a video about one that lives in Southern California.
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By clicking below, you can read about the initial discovery of the yeti crab, at hydrothermal vents off the coast of Costa Rica.
