1.1: What is Science?

1.1: What is Science?

• Science is not a collection of never-changing facts or beliefs, scientists can retest theories
• Science is a way to explain and observe the natural world
• Information is collected in an organised way 
• Explanations is based on evidence, not belief
• Science includes the view that the physical universe is a system composed of parts and processes that interact
• The goal of science is to explain the natural world
• Scientific knowledge helps us understand and do important things
• There is still much unknown about the world
• Science rarely “proves” anything
• Scientists have a method
• We use the scientific method in everyday life
• There is no set scientific method, everyone does it differently
• The scientific method includes questioning, making inferences and hypothesising, experimenting, collecting and analysing data, and drawing conclusions
• Scientific investigations begin with a observation
• An inference is a logical guess based on known information 
• A hypothesis is a scientific explanation for a set of observations
• Scientists perform controlled experiments, limiting the amount of variables 
• Data is information from experiments 
• Scientists use different tools to collect and interpret data, such as a meter stick
• Charts and graphs help organise data
• Error is very possible and scientists must try to avoid it
• New data can prove or disprove a past theory or hypothesis 
• It is not always possible to perform an experiment, for logistics or ethics 

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