Science, Technology and Society (STS) Practice Flashcards

A comprehensive set of question-and-answer flashcards covering key concepts from Lessons 1 through 5, including STS definitions, historical antecedents, intellectual revolutions, environmental sociology, human-environment interaction, and Philippine STS history.

How is Science, Technology and Society (STS) defined?

STS is the study of how society affects scientific research and technological innovation, and how research and innovation in turn affect society.

What is the definition of technology according to Lesson 1?

Technology is the use or application of scientific knowledge for a specific goal or purpose.

What are the four STS interactions defined in the study guide?

1. Cyclical co-dependence
2. Synergistic relationship
3. Cyclical co-influence
4. Cyclical co-production

What is the difference between cyclical co-influence and cyclical co-production?

Cyclical co-influence stresses continuous mutual influence over time, while cyclical co-production stresses that new knowledge, technologies, and social practices emerge at the same time, with society actively shaping the technology itself.

In the mobile phone example, what is the feedback effect?

The feedback effect is the return loop where society relies on mobile phones and requests more features, which in turn drives further scientific research and technological development.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 list, what technology allows homes, buildings, vehicles, and factories to store and return energy to the grid?

Everything-to-grid energy

Which 2026 WEF emerging technology uses engineered microorganisms to create proteins and food ingredients?

Precision fermentation

What main use does lattice-based cryptography serve according to WEF 2026?

It provides security resistant to future quantum-computer attacks.

What are the Latin and Greek word origins for Science, Technology, and Society?

Science comes from Latin 'scientia' (knowledge); Technology comes from Greek 'techne' (art, craft) + 'logos' (word, speech); Society comes from Latin 'socius' (companionship, friendship).

How did prehistoric science draw conclusions during the Stone Age?

Prehistoric science was inferential; conclusions were drawn from repeated observation (e.g., distinguishing venomous from non-venomous snakes by head shape and pupil).

What distinguishes the Paleolithic period from the Neolithic period?

Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) involved cave dwelling, hunting and gathering, and tools like choppers and harpoons. Neolithic (New Stone Age) involved settled life, agriculture, animal domestication, and metal tools.

What were the key contributions of the Sumerian civilization (4100-1750 BCE)?

Cuneiform (first writing system), Uruk (first true city), the Great Ziggurat of Ur, irrigation and dikes, sailboats, the farm wheel, and sun-baked brick roads.

Which ancient Greek thinker established a medical school on Kos and is known as the founder of modern medicine?

Hippocrates

How did Copernicus shift the existing astronomical paradigm?

He shifted the paradigm from the geocentric model (Earth as the center of the solar system) to the heliocentric model (the sun as the center).

How does the new paradigm view obesity compared to the old paradigm?

The old paradigm viewed obesity as a result of lack of discipline and poor food choices. The new paradigm recognizes multiple contributory factors, such as sleep irregularity, stress, hormonal problems, medical conditions, and genetics.

What is an intellectual revolution?

The period in the development of science and technology when paradigm shifts occurred and widely accepted scientific beliefs were challenged and opposed.

In Sigmund Freud's structure of personality, what are the roles of the Id, Ego, and Superego?

The Id is the primitive, unconscious component seeking instant gratification; the Ego is the rational component that makes workable decisions; the Superego represents social rules, morals, and conscience.

What historical events and markers contributed to the rise of environmental sociology in the 1970s?

Earth Day 1970, environmental movements of the 1960s, the 1975 energy crisis in the USA, and major industrial disasters like Bhopal and Chernobyl.

What are the five facets of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) proposed by Dunlap and Catton?

1. Balance of nature
2. Ecocrisis
3. Antiexemptionalism
4. Limits to growth
5. Antianthropocentrism

What is the hierarchy of laws in the Philippines regarding environmental regulation?

The Philippine Constitution, followed by national laws and international treaties, then administrative issuances, and lastly Local Government Unit (LGU) ordinances.

What are the four categories of ecosystem services?

1. Supporting (e.g., soil formation, photosynthesis)
2. Provisioning (e.g., food, clean water)
3. Regulating (e.g., flood control, carbon storage)
4. Cultural (e.g., recreation, spiritual experience)

What is the full taxonomic classification of humans as culture-bearing primates?

Domain Eukarya, Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Vertebrata, Class Mammalia, Order Primata, Family Hominidae, Genus Homo, species Homo sapiens.

Why is the population considered the smallest unit that can evolve?

Because evolution is defined as any change in the frequency of an allele within a gene pool, which occurs at the population level rather than in an individual.

What is the typical ecological efficiency between trophic levels in an ecosystem?

Approximately $10\%$

Match the contributors Thomas Malthus, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, and Charles Lyell to their respective evolutionary ideas.

Thomas Malthus: Struggle for existence over limited resources; Jean-Baptiste Lamarck: Inheritance of acquired characteristics and law of use and disuse; Charles Lyell: Uniformitarianism.

What precolonial Philippine technology demonstrates advanced engineering and environmental knowledge?

The Ifugao rice terraces, carved into mountain slopes with irrigation channels fed by forest watersheds.

What were balangay in the precolonial Philippines?

Plank-built boats excavated in Butuan, Agusan del Norte, used for trade and migration.

What key scientific institution was established during the American colonial period in 1905?

The Bureau of Science

Trace the reorganization of the central Philippine S&T agency from 1958 to 1987.

The Science Act of 1958 (RA 2067) created the NSDB; in 1982, NSDB was replaced by the NSTA; in 1987, Executive Order 128 created the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

What is the purpose of the Balik Scientist Act (RA 11035, 2018)?

To encourage Filipino scientists working abroad to return and work with local institutions to support national innovation and development.

What was Diwata-1, and when was it launched?

Launched in 2016, Diwata-1 was the first Philippine microsatellite designed and built by Filipino scientists and engineers with Japanese partner universities for Earth observation.