Name __________________________ Date _________________________ Period ______________

DAYSHEET 2 BIOLOGY I ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: WHAT IS SCIENCE? WHAT IS SCIENCE NOT?

Bellringer: Complete the bellringer below using your notes from last class. 1. What is biology? _________________________________________________________________ 2. What are three reasons we should study biology? a. _________________________________________________________________________ b. _________________________________________________________________________ c. _________________________________________________________________________ 3. How will doing well in biology class help you accomplish your goal(s)? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

4. What are some things that scientists can study? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

5. Can you think of anything that scientists cannot study? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

HW2 is due next class: Thursday, August 30th

Activity 1: Is it Science? Directions: For each item listed below, decide if it CAN be studied be science or CANNOT be studied by science. Then put an X in the appropriate box.

Item 1. Earthquakes 2. Viruses 3. Angels 4. Cells 5. Flying Carpets 6. Stars 7. Mind Reading 8. Souls 9. Rainbows 10. Cancer 11. Dinosaur Bones 12. Witchcraft 13. Fairies 14. Flowers 15. Beautiful Music 16. Love 17. Ghosts 18. Beautiful Sunsets 19. Flying saucers 20. Weather

Science CAN study it

Science CANNOT study it

Think, Pair, Share: What rule(s) did you use to decide if something can be studied by science? ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Our Class Rule: ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 2: The Limits of Science Purpose: To explore the limits of science. What things can scientists NOT do? Task: As you read, highlight any information about the limits of science. Answer the questions in the margin of the reading as you read. Outcome: Define Science: What IS science? What is science NOT?

THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE Introduction Science is a powerful tool. It provides a structure for looking at nature using our senses to explain our observations. But science also has its limits. Questions Science Cannot Answer Science cannot solve all problems. A basic assumption of science is that the laws of nature are the same everywhere. Those physical laws do not depend on opinion. People, however, have different customs, beliefs, and life styles. Many human questions require the use of opinion. Science cannot answer questions that require judgment or opinion. Other areas of human thought, such as philosophy and religion, do deal with these questions. Explanations Science Cannot Use A hypothesis is a possible explanation to a question about nature. It must always be possible to disprove a hypothesis. Explanations which are impossible to disprove cannot be used in science. For example, explanations that require mysterious or supernatural forces cannot be used in science. To be able to disprove an explanation, we must be able to test it. This means, in science, we must be able to do an experiment. We cannot design an experiment to test for supernatural or mysterious forces. Scientific Solutions are Not Fact The main goal of science is to understand nature by developing theories, not to produce facts. A fact is an observation about nature accepted as true. Scientific theories are not facts. They are sets of statements that explain facts and predict new facts. Scientific explanations are never 100% certain. There is always a chance that they will be disproved when new evidence is discovered.

Which of these questions can be answered by science? a. What is right? b. Who was the best president? c. Why is the grass green? d. What is the purpose of life?

Which of these is a scientific explanation? a. Some of our behavior is caused by mysterious forces from planets or stars b. Cancer is caused by a genetic mutation

Can scientific theories change?

Activity 3: What is science? Directions: Your teacher will hand you and your partner an envelope. You must categorize all the slips of paper in your envelope into one of following groups: 1. Science IS 2. Science is NOT Fill in the following table when we review our answers together:

Science IS

Science is NOT

Use what you learned in class today to summarize what science IS and what science IS NOT in your own words! Use complete sentences!

Science is ____________________________________________________________________

Science is NOT________________________________________________________________

Activity 4: Apply your Knowledge!

Directions: Circle anything in the headline below that seems non-scientific.

Terminal patients were weighed before and after they died!

HUMAN SOUL WEIGHS 1/3,000 OF AN OUNCE!

This proves there IS life after death, says top scientists
Do you think this article is an example of good or bad science? Why?

TH

Name: __________________________ Date: _______________________ Period: ______________ HW2: The Limits of Science Directions: Decide if the following things CAN or CANNOT be studied by science Items Pregnancy Santa Claus Atoms Heart Disease Ethics (What is RIGHT or WRONG) Directions: Decide if the following are questions that CAN or CANNOT be answered by science Items Which religion is best? What causes strep throat? Which type of music is the most beautiful? What causes global warming? Directions: Decide if the following are explanations that CAN or CANNOT be used by science Items Plants make food using the suns energy Some people can predict the future because they have special abilities AIDS is caused by a virus Directions: Decide if the following words describe what science IS or what science is NOT Items Testable Absolute Disprovable Based on Experimentation Based on Belief Science IS Science is NOT CAN be used by science CANNOT be used by science CAN be answered by science CANNOT be answered by science CAN be studied by science Biology I

CANNOT be studied by science

OBSERVABLE

TESTABLE

BASED ON EXPERIMENTATION

BASED ON BELIEF

ABSOLUTE

CERTAIN

100% SURE

CHANGEABLE

BASED ON FAITH

PEER-REVIEWED

FAIR

LEAVES ROOM FOR DOUBT

DISPROVABLE

SEARCH FOR TRUTH

REPRODUCEABLE