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Science knowledge base concepts & misconceptions of science perspectives

Overview

Perspective dimension

Organization of perspective dimension

Category

Misconceptions - Initial perceptual naive ideas for all ages
(Explanations for people's misconceptions: naive understandings & perceptual responses)

Beginning concepts (preschool - 7 years)

Intermediate concepts (7 years - 11 years)

Literate concepts (11+)

Educator notes

Categories and subtopics

  • Engineering & Technology
    • Engineering as defining & delimiting problems, developing solutions, optimizing solutions & Technology as linking engineering, technology, & science
    • Technology design, systems, and information processing information technology and instrumentation
    • Issues in Technology linking engineering, technology, and science to society and the natural world
  • Personal and Social - Science's relationship to personal and social decisions: health, safety, natural hazards, and risks. See Human organism for background information
  • History of Science
  • Nature of Science -
    • Science as a subject of doing science,
    • Perspectives of science as a discipline or as a subject, &
    • Science as a social endeavor

 

Engineering & Technology

  • Engineering as defining and delimiting problems, developing solutions, optimizing solutions
  • Technology and science - linking engineering, technology, and nature of science

Misconceptions - Initial perceptual naive (any age)
(Explanations for people's misconceptions: naive understandings & perceptual responses)

  1. Engineering doesn't use science.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

  1. Technology can be used to build or improve something.
  2. Humans make technology to do things.
  3. Tools are a part of technology and they are used to do things better, easier, and things that could not be done otherwise.
  4. Tools are used to make better observations and measurements.
  5. Some objects occur in nature (natural objects); others have been designed and made by people to solve human problems and enhance the quality of life (design or man made).
  6. Drawings and simple models can be used to plan technology.
  7. People help other people to make and improve things.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

  1. Technological design heuristic: Identification of a problem; propose a solution with respect to cost, materials, time, space, and safety; implement a solution with respect to any constraints identified during the proposal step; evaluate the design and product with relation to solving the problem and make modifications as necessary or desired.
  2. People have always had questions about their world.
  3. Science is one way of answering questions and explaining the natural world.
  4. Trying to determine the effects of solutions helps people avoid some new problems.
  5. Scientists and engineers often work in teams with different individuals doing different things that contribute to the results.
  6. This understanding focuses primarily on teams working together and secondarily, on the combination of scientist and engineer teams.
  7. Technologies have improved the standards of life (food production, sanitation, disease prevention, and people with disabilities).
  8. Women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and groups engage in a variety of scientific and technological work.
  9. Tools help scientists make better and more accurate observations, measurements, and equipment for investigations.
  10. They help scientists see, measure, and do things that they could not otherwise see, measure, and do. Perfectly designed solutions or products do not exist.
  11. All technological solutions have trade-offs, such as safety, cost, efficiency, materials needed, benefits, liabilities, appearance, and other variables.
  12. Engineers often build in back-up systems to provide safety.
  13. Risk is part of living in a highly technological world.
  14. Reducing risk often results in new technology.
  15. Some consequences can be predicted, others cannot.
  16. Throughout all history people everywhere have invented and used tools.
  17. Many of today's tools are modifications of yesterday's tools.
  18. Technology helps extend the ability of people to change the world: cut, shape, put together, move from place to place, reach farther, increase senses, communicate, and think for survival needs such as food, water, shelter, and defense.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Literate (11+)

  1. People have always had problems and invented tools and techniques (ways of doing something) for scientific inquiry and technological design.
  2. The two have similarities and differences.
  3. Scientists propose explanations for questions about the natural world, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems, needs, and aspirations.
  4. Technologies exist within nature and so they cannot contravene physical or biological principles. Technological solutions and technologies they have side effects, costs, carry risks, and provide benefits.
  5. Many different people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology.
  6. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are other wise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed.
  7. Technology provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.
  8. Science and technology are reciprocal.
  9. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides ideas for better instrumentation and technique. Technological designs have constraints that engineers, architects, and others must take into account to solve practical problems.
  10. Some constraints are unavoidable, for example, properties of materials, or effects of weather and friction; other constraints limit choices in the design, for example, environmental protection, human safety, and aesthetics.
  11. The knowledge base for science is recorded in print and electronic media and can be found and understood by people in and out of classrooms

Educator notes

 

Technology & design

  • Technology design, systems, and information processing information technology and instrumentation.

Misconceptions - Initial perceptual naive (any age)
(Explanations for people's misconceptions: naive understandings & perceptual responses)

  1. Peoplejust use trial and error to build things.
  2. Each new invention is created from scratch.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

  1. People use objects and ideas to solve problems.
  2. People can't always make what they design.
  3. Some materials are better than others for making particular things.
  4. Materials that are better in some ways (stronger, cheaper) may be worse in other ways (heavier, harder to form).
  5. Steps are usually involved in making things.
  6. Tools are helpful when making things.
  7. Some things can't be made with out tools.
  8. Each kind of tool has a special purpose.
  9. People use different devices and media to communicate or send and receive information.
  10. A variety of different materials (paper, cardboard, wood, plastic, metal) can be used with a variety of tools (hammers, screwdrivers, clamps, rulers, scissors, hand lenses, and audio-visual equipment) to make simple constructions.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

  1. There is no perfect design.
  2. Solutions for one problem may cause another and create trade-offs in designs.
  3. Even good designs may have flaws or fail.
  4. Material can be processed or combined with others to change their properties.
  5. Through science and technology people have created materials with a wide range of properties (steel, rayon, crystals).
  6. Discarded materials contribute to the waste problem.
  7. Many materials can be recycled or the amount of waste can be decreased with better production methods.
  8. Through mass production the time and cost of making something can be reduced.
  9. Most things in the world are made with automated machines that require people to run.
  10. Simple tools and materials can be used to make simple mechanical constructions and repair things.
  11. Measurement in the kitchen, garage, or laboratory can help in construction and being safe.
  12. Written documents that describe detailed observations, ideas, and predictions can be understood weeks or months later.
  13. Calculations of length, area, volume, time, cost, weight, can he helpful in making decisions.
  14. Safety should always be of primary concern.
  15. Audio and video equipment can be used to capture information.
  16. Patterns can be used to encode information, which can be sent, received, and decode if it is to be understood.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Literate (11+)

  1. Designs have limits that are based on physical properties of matter, energy, society, personal, and other conditions.
  2. Waves can be used to transmit digital information.
  3. All designs and technologies may have effects that were not anticipated.
  4. Almost all systems have inputs, outputs, and feedback.
  5. Digitized information is a pattern made with on and off current or 1s and 0s.
  6. Digital information can store large amounts of information which can be stored and shipped.
  7. Control is requires sensing information, processing it, and making changes.
  8. Systems fail because of poor design, selection of materials, use that exceeds design expectations, while testing and redundancy is used to reduce failure.
  9. The choice of materials for a task depend on the properties of the materials and how they will contribute to the successful production of the product.
  10. Manufacturing requires a series of steps (design, obtaining and preparing raw materials, processing the materials, assembly, testing, inspecting, packaging) that are important.
  11. Modern technology reduces production costs and produces a more uniform product.
  12. The use of synthetic materials can reduce the depletion of natural resources.
  13. Automation has change the nature of work (higher skills, knowledge of technology, engineering , quality control, supervision, maintenance).
  14. Computers can be used to store information.
  15. A variety of instruments can be used to measure, length, temperature, volume, mass, weight, elapsed time, rate, and reported with appropriate units to help in design and building.
  16. You can inspect a device by taking it apart, looking at the parts, and reassemble it to see how it works.
  17. You can also make changes and see the results.

Educator notes

 

Technology issues

  • Issues in Technology linking engineering, technology, and science to society and the natural world

Misconceptions - Initial perceptual naive (any age)
(Explanations for people's misconceptions: naive understandings & perceptual responses)

  1. Technology is made in factories and sold in stores.
  2. Tools are only used in workshops.
  3. Tools are only used by construction people.
  4. Cooking utensils are not tools.
  5. People alone or in groups are always inventing new ways to solve problems and do work.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

  1. Technology is the use of science ideas and tools for practical purposes.
  2. Tools (technology) and the ways people do things affect all aspects of life.
  3. Technology has been on Earth since the beginning of humans.
  4. Technology influences people and people create technology.
  5. Any invention is likely to lead to another invention.
  6. An invention is likely to cause people to think of new ways of using it.
  7. We enjoy many luxuries because of technology.
  8. Technology is not equally available to all people on Earth.
  9. When people want to build something new they should consider how it might affect people.
  10. Scientific laws, engineering principles, properties of matter, and construction techniques are all used in designing solutions to problems.
  11. Cost, safety, appearance, environmental impact, and what happens if the solution fails should be considered when designing technology.
  12. Technologies have drawbacks as well as benefits that may be know or not during design and production.
  13. The ability to invent tools and technology has caused people to have a tremendous impact on all living organisms.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

  1. People shape the future by their ability for creating knowledge and technology and communicating it to others.
  2. Technology can not solve all problems or meet all human needs.
  3. Technology strongly influenced the course of history and continues to do so (agriculture, manufacturing, sanitation, medicine, warfare, transportation, information processing, and communication).
  4. New technologies have benefits and risks.
  5. Rarely are technology issues one-sided.
  6. Many issues can create benefits as well as negative consequences.
  7. Society influences what aspects of technology are developed and how they are used.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Literate (11+)

Educator notes

 

Personal and Social

  • Personal and Social - Science's relationship to personal and social decisions: health, safety, natural hazards, and risks. See Human organism for background information

Initial perceptual naive misconceptions (any age)

Misconceptions (Explanations, Naive understanding, Misconceptions, or Perceptual responses)

  1. Science doesn't relate to me.
  2. Scientists work alone.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

Educator notes

 

Concepts Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

Educator notes

 

Concepts Literate (11+)

Health

  1. Science can inform decision making in what is necessary for healthy lives and what is detrimental.

Safety

  1. Life involves risks.
  2. Science can provide data in making decision for risk management.

Natural hazards

  1. Natural hazards can present personal and societal challenges because miss identifying the change or incorrectly estimating the rate and scale of change may result in either too little attention and significant human costs or too much cost for unneeded preventative measures.

Risks

  1. Science provides data from observations and models to provide for risk analysis to consider the type of hazard and estimates for the number of people that might be exposed and the number likely to suffer consequences. The results are used to determine the options for reducing or eliminating risks. There are risks associated with natural hazards (fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions). with chemical hazards (pollutants in air, water, soil, and food), with biological hazards (pollen, viruses, bacterial, and parasite), social hazards (occupational safety and transportation) and with personal hazards (smoking, dieting, and drinking).
  2. Science provides real life data from observations that individuals can use in a systematic approach to thinking critically about risks and benefits. Examples include applying probability estimates to risks and comparing them to estimated personal and social benefits. Important personal and social decisions are made based on perceptions of benefits and risks.

Educator notes

See also: Human organisms/anatomy for background information

 

 

History of science

Initial perceptual naive misconceptions (any age)

Misconceptions (Explanations, Naive understanding, Misconceptions, or Perceptual responses)

  1. People have always known how to use science.
  2. Science doesn't change.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

Science and technology have been practiced by people for a long time.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

  1. Scientists have been experimenting for years.
  2. Men and women have made a variety of contributions throughout the history of science and technology.
  3. Although men and women using scientific inquiry have learned much about the objects, events, and phenomena in nature, much more remains to be understood.
  4. Science will never be finished. Many people choose science as a career and devote their entire lives to studying it.
  5. Many people derive great pleasure from doing science.
  6. Women and men of various social and ethnic backgrounds-and with diverse interests, talents, qualities, and motivations-engage in the activities of science, engineering, and related fields such as the health professions.
  7. Some scientists work in teams, and some work alone, but all communicate extensively with others.
  8. Science requires different abilities, depending on such factors as the field of study and type of inquiry.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Literate (11+)

  1. Some scientific knowledge is very old and is still applicable today.
  2. Tracing the history of science can show how difficult it was for scientific innovators to break through the accepted ideas of their time to reach to conclusions that we currently take for granted.
  3. Many individuals have contributed to the traditions of science.
  4. Studying some of these individuals provides further understanding of scientific inquiry, science as a human endeavor, the nature of science, and the relationships between science and society.
  5. Science is very much a human endeavor, and the work of science relies on basic human qualities, such as reasoning, insight, energy, skill, and creativity-as well as scientific habits of the mind, such as intellectual honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, skepticism, and openness to new ideas.
  6. In historical perspective, science has been practiced by different individuals in different cultures.
  7. In looking at the history of many peoples, one finds that scientists and engineers of high achievement are considered to be among the most valued contributors to their culture. Lavoisier successfully tested the concept of conservation of matter.
  8. Marie Curie and Pierre Curie isolated two new elements.
  9. One radium was named because of the powerful rays it gave off.
  10. Marie was the first person ever to win two Nobel prizes in two different fields.
  11. Louis Pasteur introduced germ theory. He demonstrated what caused milk and wine to spoil.

Educator notes

 

Nature of science

  • Doing of Science
  • Perspectives of science discipline or as a subject
  • Science as a social endeavor

Initial perceptual naive misconceptions (any age)

Misconceptions (Explanations, Naive understanding, Misconceptions, or Perceptual responses)

  1. Science finds one anwer.
  2. Science never changes.
  3. Only special people can do science.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Beginning (preschool - 7 years)

Doing science

  1. Scientists use different ways to study the natural world.
  2. When an investigation is repeated there is usually similar results.
  3. Science is a human endeavor.
  4. Scientists answer questions with observations.
  5. Scientist look for patterns and order when making observations about the world.
  6. Scientists are often creative.
  7. Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to understand and communicate.
  8. Scientific ideas change with time. Science is tentative. Science explanations can change based on neew evidence.
  9. When an investigation is repeated there is usually similar results.
  10. Scientists answer questions with observations.
  11. People can often learn about things around them by just observing those things carefully, but sometimes they can learn more by doing something to the things and noting what happens.
  12. Although men and women using scientific inquiry have learned much about the objects, events, and phenomena in nature, much more remains to be understood. Science will never be finished.

Perspectives of science discipline or as a subject

  1. Scientists can disagree and work together to collect information that they agree with to understand the world.
  2. Science is a human endeavor.
  3. Scientific ideas change with time.

Science as a social endeavor

  1. Science ideas can be shared with others.
  2. Ideas and inventions affect people.
  3. People can agree and disagree on exploring similar and different ideas.
  4. Scientists can disagree and work together to collect information that they agree with to understand the world.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Intermediate (7 years - 11 years)

Doing science

  1. Science investigations turn out exactly the same if variables are identified and controlled, different investigation methods are identified, and observations are accurate.
  2. Science is a creative process.
  3. Scientists create questions, design an experiment, and use observations to answer their questions.
  4. All scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and improvement.
  5. However, most scientific ideas change incrementally retaining core ideas with a sort of modification for clarity rather than complete revision.
  6. Science is a process with a community of scientists that review and support each other and the understanding of the natural world.
  7. The scientific method can not answer all questions.
  8. Results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same. Sometimes this is because of unexpected differences in the things being investigated, sometimes because of unrealized differences in the methods used or in the circumstances in which the investigation is carried out, and sometimes just because of uncertainties in observations.
  9. It is not always easy to tell which.
  10. Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.
  11. Investigations can focus on physical, biological, and social questions.
  12. Scientists' explanations about what happens in the world come partly from what they observe, partly from what they think.
  13. Sometimes scientists have different explanations for the same set of observations. That usually leads to their making more observations to resolve the differences.
  14. Scientists' explanations about what happens in the world come partly from what they observe, partly from what they think.
  15. Sometimes scientists have different explanations for the same set of observations. That usually leads to their making more observations to resolve the differences.
  16. Scientists do not pay much attention to claims about how something they know about works unless the claims are backed up with evidence that can be confirmed and with a logical argument.
  17. Scientists formulate and test their explanations of nature using observation, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models.
  18. Although all scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and improvement in principle, for most major ideas in science, there is much experimental and observational confirmation. Those ideas are not likely to change greatly in the future.
  19. Scientists do and have changed their ideas about nature when they encounter new experimental evidence that does not match their existing explanations.

Perspectives of science discipline or as a subject

  1. Tracing the history of science can show how difficult it was for scientific innovators to break through the accepted ideas of their time to reach the conclusions that we currently take for granted.
  2. Science investigations turn out exactly the same if variables are identified and controlled, different investigation methods are identified, and observations are accurate.
  3. Science is a creative process.
  4. Scientists create questions, design an experiment, and use observations to answer their questions.
  5. All scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and improvement. However, most scientific ideas change incrementally retaining core ideas with a sort of modification for clarity rather than complete revision.
  6. The scientific method can not answer all questions.

Science as a social endeavor

  1. Science is a process with a community of scientists that review and support each other and the understanding of the natural world.
  2. People continue inventing new ways of doing things, solving problems, and getting work done.
  3. New ideas and inventions often affect other people' sometimes the effects are good and sometimes they are bad.
  4. It is helpful to try to determine in advance how ideas and inventions will affect other people.
  5. The effect of science on society is neither entirely beneficial nor entirely detrimental.
  6. Society challenges often inspire questions for scientific, research, and social priorities often influence research priorities through the availability of funding for research.
  7. Science influences society through its knowledge and world view.
  8. Technology influences society through its products and processes.
  9. Science and technology have advanced through contributions of many different people, in different cultures.

Educator notes

 

Concepts Literate (11+)

Doing science

  1. When scientists encounter new experimental evidence, that does not match their existing explanations, they decide if the differences are trivial or significant with additional investigations.
  2. If they decide the differences are significant they do and have changed their ideas.
  3. Doing science involves creativity, imagination, and logical thinking to generate and test the validity of ideas.
  4. Scientists formulate and test their explanations using observations, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models.
  5. Most major ideas in science have much experimental and observational confirmation that is not likely to change much in the future.
  6. Accepted scientific theories are powerful models for explaining past, present, and future phenomena and events.
  7. The validity of an explanation being a function of the type and amount of evidence to support the theory.
  8. Scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new information challenges prevailing theories and as a new theory leads to looking at old observations in a new way.
  9. Scientists differ greatly in what phenomena they study and how they go about their work. Although there is no fixed set of steps that all scientists follow, scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected evidence.
  10. From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how the world works. More often, however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications of prior knowledge.
  11. Change and continuity are persistent features of science.
  12. No matter how well one theory fits observations, a new theory might fit them just as well or better, or might fit a wider range of observations.
  13. In science, the testing, revising, and occasional discarding of theories, new and old, never ends.
  14. This ongoing process leads to an increasingly better understanding of how things work in the world but not to absolute truth.
  15. Evidence for the value of this approach is given by the improving ability of scientists to offer reliable explanations and make accurate predictions.
  16. In the short run, new ideas that do not mesh well with mainstream ideas in science often encounter vigorous criticism. In the long run, theories are judged by how they fit with other theories, the range of observations they explain, how well they explain observations, and how effective they are in predicting new findings.
  17. Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism, as scientists strive for the best possible explanations about the natural world.
  18. Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria. First and foremost, they must be consistent with experimental and observational evidence about nature, and must make accurate predictions, when appropriate, about systems being studied.
  19. They should also be logical, respect the rules of evidence, be open to criticism, report methods and procedures, and make knowledge public.
  20. Explanations on how the natural world changes based on myths, personal beliefs, religious values, mystical inspiration, superstition, or authority may be personally useful and socially relevant, but they are not scientific.
  21. Because all scientific ideas depend on experimental and observational confirmation, all scientific knowledge is, in principle, subject to change as new evidence becomes available.
  22. The core ideas of science such as the conservation of energy or the laws of motion have been subjected to a wide variety of confirmations and are therefore unlikely to change in the areas in which they have been tested. In areas where data or understanding are incomplete, such as the details of human evolution or questions surrounding global warming, new data may well lead to changes in current ideas or resolve current conflicts.
  23. In situations where information is still fragmentary, it is normal for scientific ideas to be incomplete, but this is also where the opportunity for making advances may be greatest.
  24. The historical perspective of scientific explanations demonstrates I how scientific knowledge changes by evolving over time, almost always building on earlier knowledge.

Perspectives of science discipline or as a subject

  1. In new scientific areas there is not a great deal of experimental or observational evidence and understanding, therefore it is normal for scientists to differ with one another about the interpretation of the evidence or theory being considered.
  2. Different scientists might publish conflicting experimental results or might draw different conclusions from the same data. Ideally, scientists acknowledge such conflict and work towards finding evidence that will resolve their disagreement by reviewing experimental procedures, examining the evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, pointing out statements that go beyond the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same observations.
  3. Although scientists may disagree about explanations of phenomena, about interpretations of data, or about the value of rival theories, they do agree that questioning, response to criticism, and open communication are integral to the process of science.
  4. As scientific knowledge evolves, major disagreements are eventually resolved through such interactions between scientists.
  5. Some matters (ethical and moral) cannot be examined by the scientific method.
  6. When scientists encounter new experimental evidence, that does not match their existing explanations, they decide if the differences are trivial or significant with additional investigations.
  7. If they decide the differences are significant they do and have changed their ideas.
  8. Science involves creativity, imagination, and logical thinking to generate and test the validity of ideas.
  9. Scientists formulate and test their explanations using observations, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models.
  10. Most major ideas in science have much experimental and observational confirmation that is not likely to change much in the future.
  11. Accepted scientific theories are powerful models for explaining past, present, and future phenomena and events.
  12. The validity of an explanation being a function of the type and amount of evidence to support the theory. In new scientific areas there is not a great deal of experimental or observational evidence and understanding, therefore it is normal for scientists to differ with one another about the interpretation of the evidence or theory being considered.
  13. Different scientists might publish conflicting experimental results or might draw different conclusions from the same data.
  14. Ideally, scientists acknowledge such conflict and work towards finding evidence that will resolve their disagreement by reviewing experimental procedures, examining the evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, pointing out statements that go beyond the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same observations.
  15. Although scientists may disagree about explanations of phenomena, about interpretations of data, or about the value of rival theories, they do agree that questioning, response to criticism, and open communication are integral to the process of science.
  16. As scientific knowledge evolves, major disagreements are eventually resolved through such interactions between scientists. Some matters (ethical and moral) cannot be examined by the scientific method.
  17. Science is influenced by social, cultural, political, religious, and geographical entities in which people live.
  18. Science rejects authoritarianism.
  19. Science seeks honest information.
  20. Science is skeptical and rejects the idea of absolute truth.
  21. Science rejects supernatural explanations.
  22. Science seeks simplicity (Occam's Razor).
  23. Science seeks consistency.

Science as a social endeavor

  1. Scientist often collaborate with each other.
  2. Some matters (ethical and moral) cannot be examined by the scientific method.
  3. Scientists are influenced by societal, cultural, and personal beliefs and ways of viewing the world. Science is not separate from society but rather science is a part of society.
  4. Science is influenced by social, cultural, political, religious, and geographical entities in which people live.
  5. Science rejects authoritarianism. Science seeks honest information. Science is skeptical and rejects the idea of absolute truth.
  6. Science rejects supernatural explanations.
  7. Science seeks simplicity (Occam's Razor). Science seeks consistency.
  8. Social needs, attitudes, and values influence the direction of technological development.
  9. Science and technology have greatly improved food quality and quantity, transportation, health, sanitation, and communication.
  10. These benefits of science and technology are not available to all of the people in the world.
  11. Technology influences the quality of life and the ways people act and interact.
  12. Technological changes are often accompanied by social, political, and economic changes that can be beneficial or detrimental to individuals and to society.
  13. Scientists and engineers have ethical codes requiring that human subjects involved with research be fully informed about risks and benefits associated with the research before the individuals choose to participate.
  14. This ethic extends to potential risks to communities and property.
  15. In short, prior knowledge and consent are required for research involving human subjects or potential damage to property.
  16. Science and technology have contributed enormously to economic growth and productivity among societies and groups within societies.
  17. Scientists and engineers work in many different settings, including colleges and universities, businesses and industries, specific research institutes, and government agencies.
  18. Science cannot answer all questions and technology cannot solve all human problems or meet all human needs.
  19. Scientific knowledge and the procedures used by scientists influence the way many individuals in society think about themselves, others, and the environment.

Educator notes

 

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
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