What is Science? (6-8 Version)

Science

• The study of the natural world

• A branch of mathematics

• The art of cooking

• A type of literature

Supernatural

• Things that can be scientifically proven

• Things that are purely fictional

• Things that you can believe in, but do not have scientific evidence (ghosts, religion, horoscopes)

• Things that are universally accepted as true

Math and Computers

• Counting, measurements, equations, simulations, virtual reality

• Data analysis, programming, networking, hardware

• Statistics, algorithms, databases, cloud computing

• Geometry, calculus, artificial intelligence, robotics

Questions

• Asking how or why something happens in the natural world

• Making predictions about future events

• Describing the physical properties of objects

• Identifying the main idea of a text

Argue

• When scientists agree on the explanation of evidence, more evidence = better argument

• When scientists disagree on the explanation of evidence, less evidence = better argument

• When scientists disagree on the explanation of evidence, more evidence = better argument

• When scientists have no evidence, arguments are unnecessary

Limitations

• Something that is NOT accurate about a model

• A feature that enhances a model's performance

• An assumption that is always true

• A method to validate a model's accuracy

Investigations

• When scientists observe or experiment to get evidence

• A method of collecting data without any observation

• A process of making assumptions without testing

• A way to analyze data after experiments

Evidence

• Data that supports or does not support a claim, makes a science argument stronger

• A type of hypothesis that can be tested

• An opinion based on personal beliefs

• A conclusion drawn from anecdotal experiences

Data

• Numbers or descriptions, must be FACTS, not opinions

• Personal beliefs and opinions

• Unverified information and rumors

• Creative interpretations and assumptions

Communicate

• How scientists share ideas that have evidence with each other (talking, writing, drawing)

• The process of conducting experiments in isolation

• The method of publishing research findings in journals

• The act of presenting data without context