What is Science Flashcards
(10 cards)
What does Scientia mean in Latin
Knowledge
When was the term scientist first used
in 1834. Before that, scientists were know as natural philosophers
What is the difference between proof and evidence?
Science works with hypothesis finding and finding evidence.
What are the key characteristics of science?
Investigate the natural world
aims to investigate the natural world
Uses testable ideas
Relies on evidence
Involves the scientific community
Leads to ongoing research
Benefits from scientific behaviour
How does aim to explain the natural world?
Science aims to produce more and more accurate explanations of how the natural world works
An ongoing process
More accurate information on how the natural world works
How does it use testable ideas
A testable idea logically generates expectations
Predicts a set of observations we could expat to make if the idea is true
“Hypothesis”
In what ways does science rely on evidence?
Scientific ideas must not only be testable, but they must actually be tested
Scientific idea must be supported by evidence, preferably by many lines of evidence gathered by many different people
Evidence from different fields
Scientific idea not supported by evidence are ultimately rejected
What are some limitations of science
Science does not make moral judgements
Science does not make aesthetic judgements
Science does not tell us how to use scientific knowledge
Science does not draw conclusions about supernatural explanations
Aesthetics, morality, ethics, theology, etc are very important “ways of knowing” Questions arising in these domains cannot generally be resolved by science
What are the steps of the scientific method?
Ask a question
Do research
Hypothesis
Test
Draw conclusions
Refine hypothesis
What are the limitations of the scientific method?
Science is more complex, dynamic, and creative
Non-Linear, often cynical, iterative
Not every discovery follows the same path
The process of science is not predetermined
