Introduction to the Scientific Method and Measurement

This set covers the core distinctions between science, philosophy, and religion, the nature of scientific truth, standard SI units, compound units, and scientific notation prefixes.

Religion

A domain characterized by the central themes of belief and faith.

Philosophy

A domain characterized by the central themes of ideas and logical reasoning.

Science

A domain characterized by the central theme of hypotheses tested by experiments.

Hypothesis Truth in Science

The concept that experiments can only prove a hypothesis to be wrong; if repeated experiments do not prove it wrong, it becomes closer to a scientific truth.

Pros of the Scientific Method

Allows for building on knowledge from past experiments, leading to progress where knowledge grows at an accelerating rate.

Cons of the Scientific Method

Experiments can be time consuming, dangerous, and expensive, with costs reaching about $9 \text{ billion}$ dollars.

Mass (Standard SI Unit)

$$\text{kilogram (kg)}$$

Length (Standard SI Unit)

$$\text{meter (m)}$$

Time (Standard SI Unit)

$$\text{second (s)}$$

Electric Charge (Standard SI Unit)

$$\text{Coulomb (C)}$$

Compound Units

New units created by multiplying and/or dividing fundamental units, such as speed ($\text{meters/sec}$) or volume ($\text{meters}^3$).

Order of Magnitude

The $10^x$ part of a number written in scientific notation.

kilo-

A unit prefix representing the power of ten $10^3$ (one thousand).

mega-

A unit prefix representing the power of ten $10^6$ (one million).

giga-

A unit prefix representing the power of ten $10^9$ (one billion).

centi-

A unit prefix representing the power of ten $10^{-2}$ (one hundredth).

milli-

A unit prefix representing the power of ten $10^{-3}$ (one thousandth).

micro-

A unit prefix representing the power of ten $10^{-6}$ (one millionth).

nano-

A unit prefix representing the power of ten $10^{-9}$ (one billionth).