philosohy of science midterm

What is classical mechanics and who invented it?

Invented by newton, the idea that all motion is the result of local interactions among constituent parts, things move and bump into each other

What kind of math did Newton invent?

Calculus

What are newtons 3 laws of motion?

1. Inertia - an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by a force

2. F=ma acceleration of an object is proportional to the force acting upon it and is directed in the direction of the force

3. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction

The social sciences were founded on which type of mathematics?

Probability math/statistics

Which two fields did Simon LaPlace unify to produce statistics?

Probability math and astronomy/physics (or celestial mechanics)

Explain the Law of Errors

seems to be normal distribution- small errors are common due to common man

Henry Buckle wrote: Free will is…

An unscientific concept

Who developed the theory of relativity?

Albert Einstein

Which formula results from the theory of relativity

E=mc2

What are some implications of the theory of relativity

Time and space aren’t absolute but relative to the observer. Gravity is not a force but a curving of the fabric of time and space. Matter and energy are a difference of degree, not substance

What kind of math did quantum physicists use to describe the behavior of subatomic particles?

Probabilistic

What did Einstein’s photo-electric effect prove?

Light behaved as particles called photons - evidence for the particle nature of light - light hitting a metal surface ejects electrons

Neils Bohr produced a new model of the atom, what did it resemble?

The model showed how electrons orbit around the nucleus just as planets orbit the sun

Electrons only exist at energy levels that are ____

Quantized/discrete - electrons only exist in certain shells/orbitals cannot exist between energy levels

What does Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle state?

You cannot know both the position and momentum (essentially speed) of an electron.

What is Heinsenberg’s Ontology?

World isn’t made of objects it’s made of probabilities that only become real when they interact with something else

What did Schrodinger’s wave function tell us about the location of sub-atomic particles?

They aren’t in fixed positions, it’s a path or better known electron as electron clouds/orbitals

What was the indisputable proof of the quantum theory?

Atomic comb or the photoelectric effect

What type of math did Descartes invent?

Analytical geometry

What famous proclamation did Descartes make?

I think therefor I am

In his Mediation on First Philosohy, Descartes explained his method of… what?

Cartesian doubt, reject any belief that can be doubted even slightly to obtain absolute certainty

What is Cartesian Dualism?

Mind and body are two different beings/substances that interact mind is the non physical aspect of the physical body

Explain Thomas Kuhn’s 4 stages of scientific revolution

1. normal science - working with the already established frameworks that are commonly believed to

2. Anomaly - a result or observation that the paradigm can’t explain

3. Extraordinary science - anomaly is so significant that paradigm is no longer trusted

4. Revolution - data is interpreted in a new way, new paradigm is established. Data is the same but now there’s a different way of making sense of it

David Hume said correlation does not imply causation. What did he mean by that?

Just because two things appear to be related does not mean that there is a cause and effect relationship between them.

William James is know as the Father of American ____

Psychology

What discipline was William James trained in?

Medicine, got an MD after studied chemistry and physiology

What was James’ The Will to Believe a defense of?

Blindly believing in religion

Define inductive reasoning?

It’s scientific generalization. Starting with a bunch of particulars to then form a larger and broader generalization or rule

Why are inductive conclusions only ever probably and not definite?

We have not observed all cases

What statistical test would you run to find the total number of items in a class

Descriptive count

What type of statistical analysis would you run: a comparison of two or more quantities that show their relative size

Ratio/proportion comparison

Which type of statistical test would you run for: A single value representing the center or “typical” value of a data set

Mean

What statistical analysis to fine the value that lies in the middle of the range

Median

What stats. Test to find the number/proportion of Ss that have some variable P

frequency count

What stats test would you run for the number/proportion of Ss that each have values (P,Q,R) of some variable

Frequency distribution

Which of H.G Wells’ stories caused a panic when it was performed on the radio

The War of the Worlds

In The Time Machine, time travel was shown to be a problem of what and not of physics?

Geometry - treating time as a fourth dimension

Which of Ray Bradbury’s books depicts a dark future which all the books have been burnt?

Fahrenheit 451