Summary Outline for Prelims

What is science according to the American Heritage Dictionary (2004)?

Observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena.

How does Snir et al. (2003) describe science?

An ongoing theoretical dialogue with nature involving progressively stronger models that explain a wider range of phenomena.

How does Cobern (1993) describe science?

A way of understanding the world and human interactions with it.

How do Watters & Diezmann (2003) describe science?

A human endeavor for making sense of the environment; a worldview built around practices leading toward personal understanding.

How does Gribbin (2003) describe science?

An intellectual and social activity carried out by humans to better understand the natural world.

How does Cajete (1999) describe science?

Science as a cultural and individual process of thought.

What is the overall concept of science in the outline?

Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a systematic way of understanding the natural world through evidence, critical thinking, and continuous inquiry.

What does it mean for science to be empirical?

It is based on observations or evidence from the senses or scientific instruments.

What does it mean for science to be testable?

Ideas can be examined through observation or experimentation.

What does it mean for scientific knowledge to be tentative?

Knowledge remains open to revision when new evidence emerges.

What does it mean for science to be systematic?

It uses organized and logical methods for investigation and problem-solving.

What does evidence-based mean in science?

Conclusions are supported by reliable, verifiable evidence.

What does self-correcting mean in science?

Errors are identified and corrected through continued research.

What does peer-reviewed mean?

Scientific findings are evaluated by other experts.

What are three characteristics of science emphasized in comparison with other knowledge systems?

Evidence-based, testable, and self-correcting.

What characterizes Indigenous Knowledge in the outline?

It is experience-based, context-specific, and passed through generations.

What characterizes pseudoscience in the outline?

Unsupported claims that cannot be reliably tested and are resistant to criticism.

What is the STS perspective on Indigenous Knowledge?

It is not automatically dismissed; STS examines how different knowledge systems contribute to understanding the world.

What was the Scientific Revolution?

An era of enlightenment involving the development of scientific fields, changing perceptions of the environment, empiricism and the scientific method, microscopes and telescopes, heliocentrism, and challenges to established knowledge.

What major shift occurred during the Scientific Revolution?

From authority, tradition, and religion toward observation, experimentation, and evidence.

What question replaced 'Who said it?' during the Scientific Revolution?

'What is the evidence?'

Who was Nicolaus Copernicus?

A Renaissance astronomer whose work is often cited as a beginning of the Scientific Revolution.

What is heliocentrism?

The idea that Earth and the planets revolve around the Sun and Earth is not the center of the universe.

What is geocentrism?

The Earth-centered interpretation in which Earth is treated as the center of the universe.

What was Commentariolus?

An early presentation of Copernicus's heliocentric idea.

What was De revolutionibus orbium coelestium?

Copernicus's major published work presenting his heliocentric ideas.

Why was Copernicus's heliocentrism controversial?

It contradicted Ptolemy's geocentrism and prevailing religious and intellectual beliefs; critics also argued that Copernicus did not provide a sufficient physical explanation for why Earth moves.

What did the Catholic Church support regarding the universe?

An Earth-centered interpretation.

Who later supported Copernican heliocentrism through planetary motion?

Johannes Kepler.

How did Galileo later support the heliocentric view?

Through work related to inertia.

How did Newton later support the heliocentric framework?

Through the concept of gravity.

Who was Charles Darwin?

A 19th-century English naturalist and biologist.

What is Darwin's On the Origin of Species?

A major work published in 1859 presenting evolutionary ideas, including natural selection.

What is evolution?

A long-term process resulting in species change and diversification.

What is natural selection?

Organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on genes associated with their success; over generations, populations change and species diverge.

What is The Descent of Man?

Darwin's work that applied evolutionary ideas to human evolution.

What is the outline's answer to 'Where did humans come from?'

Modern humans (Homo sapiens) and monkeys/apes share a common ancestor; humans did not simply come from the monkeys or apes alive today.

What social beliefs did Darwin's evolutionary ideas challenge?

Creationist interpretations and existing beliefs about human origins.

Who was Sigmund Freud?

An Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis.

What did Freud focus on?

Human inner life, unconscious processes, personality, and behavior.

What is the id?

The part associated with immediate desires and pleasure: 'what I want right away.'

What is the ego?

The part associated with reality that regulates or controls immediate desires according to circumstances.

What is the superego?

The conscience or morality component concerned with right and wrong.

What is Freud's central idea about personality and behavior?

Personality and behavior result partly from the interaction of the id, ego, and superego.

What other contributions are associated with Freud in the outline?

The unconscious mind, defense/coping mechanisms, psychosexual development, and psychological/emotional aspects of mental health.

When did the Scientific Revolution occur according to the outline?

The 16th century.

What did the Scientific Revolution change?

How people think, while laying groundwork for technological development.

What did the Industrial Revolution change?

How people work, producing massive societal and economic transformation.

What characterized the 1st Industrial Revolution?

1780s — Steam.

What characterized the 2nd Industrial Revolution?

1870s — Electricity.

What characterized the 3rd Industrial Revolution?

1960s — Computers.

What characterized the 4th Industrial Revolution?

1990s — Internet + AI.

What are the core elements of civilization in the STS framework?

Urbanization; division of labor/social stratification; communication/writing; agriculture and trade producing food surplus and economic stability.

What is the core STS framework for the development of civilization and technology?

Societal Need → Scientific Knowledge → Technology → Societal Transformation.

What is the central idea of the STS framework for early civilizations?

Scientific knowledge emerged from societal needs, produced technologies, and transformed society.

What were major societal needs of the Maya?

Agriculture, seasonal planning, food security, water management, urban organization, and religious/community life.

What scientific knowledge were the Maya known for?

Astronomy, eclipse prediction, celestial observation, positional mathematics, a base-20 number system, and the concept of zero.

Why is the Maya base-20 number system associated with 20?

It is associated with the 20 fingers and toes of the hands and feet.

What was the Haab Calendar?

A 365-day calendar associated with the solar cycle.

What was the Tzolkin Calendar?

A 260-day calendar associated with agriculture, rituals, and celestial movements.

What is the significance of Maya astronomical temples?

Monumental temples functioned as astronomical observatories, linking architecture, religion, and science.

What Maya technologies/outputs should be remembered?

Calendars, astronomical temples, hydraulic systems/waterways, crop-growing technologies, urban design, mica paints, rubber products, and hieroglyphics.

What were major societal needs of the Inca?

Governance, transportation, communication, trade, agriculture, military movement, and adaptation to mountainous terrain.

What scientific knowledge did the Inca develop or use?

Engineering, irrigation, information management, and agricultural/timekeeping knowledge.

What Inca technologies/outputs should be remembered?

Roads, earthquake-resistant structures, quipu, a 12-month calendar, irrigation systems, suspension bridges, and textiles.

What is quipu?

A knotted-rope record-keeping and information system.

What information could quipu record?

Census, taxation, agricultural production, and administrative information.

What were major societal needs of the Aztec?

Food security, population growth, agriculture, health, transportation, and education.

What scientific knowledge did the Aztec use?

Agricultural knowledge, medicinal knowledge, and environmental/resource management.

What is a chinampa?

A rectangular agricultural plot divided by canals.

Why was the chinampa significant?

It was an agricultural innovation responding to food-production demands and limited farmland.

What were major societal needs of India in the outline?

Health, agriculture, measurement, metallurgy, astronomy, and mathematical calculation.

What scientific knowledge did ancient India contribute?

Medicine, medicinal plants, surgery, astronomy, trigonometry, algebra, numerical systems, and mathematical analysis.

What is Ayurveda?

A traditional medical system involving health, medicinal plants, and treatment.

What is Susrutasamhita?

A work associated with ancient Indian medical and surgical practices.

What Indian technological/scientific outputs should be remembered?

Ayurveda, Susrutasamhita, surgical practices, iron/metalworking, the Mohenjo-daro ruler, and the Hindu-Arabic numeral system.

What was the significance of the Mohenjo-daro ruler?

It represents standardized measurements.

What were major societal needs of China?

Health, agriculture, navigation, trade, communication, transportation, disaster observation, and warfare.

What scientific knowledge did ancient China develop or use?

Medicine, acupuncture, astronomy, magnetism, seismology, and astronomical observation/record-keeping.

What major Chinese technologies/outputs should be remembered?

Compass, gunpowder, printing, iron plough, wheelbarrow, propeller, seismological detector, and lunar calendars.

Why was the compass significant?

Knowledge of magnetism supported navigation and trade.

Why was printing significant in China?

It enabled knowledge dissemination.

What is notable about gunpowder in the STS outline?

It had beneficial as well as unintended consequences.

What were major societal needs during the Golden Age of Islam?

Knowledge creation, medicine, mathematics, understanding nature, optics, and material studies.

What scientific knowledge characterized the Golden Age of Islam?

Experimental science, optics, algebra, algorithms, chemistry/alchemy, and medicine.

What outputs of the Golden Age of Islam should be remembered?

Algebra, algorithms, optical methods, chemical/alchemical practices, clinical trials, and decimal point notation.

Who is associated with optics in the Golden Age of Islam?

Ibn al-Haytham.

Who is associated with algebra, algorithms, and decimal point notation?

Al-Khwarizmi.

Who is associated with chemistry/alchemy?

Jabir ibn Hayyan.

Who is associated with medicine and clinical trials?

Ibn Sina.

What were major societal needs of ancient Egypt?

Nile flooding, land boundaries, agriculture, construction, health, administration, and timekeeping.

What scientific knowledge did ancient Egypt develop or use?

Land measurement/surveying, geometry, anatomy, pharmacology, alchemy, astronomy, calendars, metallurgy, and mathematics.

What Egyptian technologies/outputs should be remembered?

Surveying and architectural practices, pyramids, cities, early dams, medical practices, lunar/solar/stellar calendars, metal tools, and mathematical operations/algebra.

What is the Lebombo Bone?

The oldest mathematical artifact listed in the outline, dated to about 3500 BCE.

What is the Maya example in the STS chain?

Agriculture → Astronomy → Calendars.

What is the Inca example in the STS chain?

Governance → Engineering → Roads & Bridges.

What is the Aztec example in the STS chain?

Food Security → Agriculture → Chinampas.

What is the India example in the STS chain?

Health → Medicine → Ayurveda.

What is the China example in the STS chain?

Trade & Communication → Magnetism → Compass.

What is the Middle East example in the STS chain?

Knowledge Creation → Experimental Science → Algebra/Optics/Chemistry.