MODULE I: THED WORLD OF SCIENCE

Skills to develop
After studying this module, a form one student should be able to:
 Define science
 Name branches of science
 Name prominent scientists
 Identify basic laboratory equipment
 Know safety rules when working in a science laboratory
 Apply methods for carrying out experiments.
 Know some applications of science
 Define physics and know its different branches
 Describe how a physicist works
 Distinguish between measurement and estimate
 Define physical quantities and give examples of them.

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE

Science is derived from the Greek word “Scientia” meaning knowledge
Definition
Science is the systematic and logical study of nature.
1.2 Branches of science
Science is divided into three main branches namely: applied science, pure science and
social science
A) Pure science
It has as subjects Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Geography and Physics. It
provides information on how the entire universe operates and functions.
B) Applied Sciences
Its fields of studies are Agriculture, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmacy. It uses results from pure
science to produce things and equipment.

Physics notes form one by Sir Nnoko Maxwell1

C) Social Sciences
Its fields are Philosophy, Politics, Accountancy and Economics
Note: mathematics is just a scientific language and not a science subject.
SCIENTISTS
An expert in science is known as a scientist. Someone who studies science is called a
student of science.
Scientist Period lived Nationality Scientific contribution
name
Democritus 470 – 400 B.C Greek Suggested the atom
Aristotle 384 – 322 B.C Greek The first law of motion
Archimedes 287 – 212 B.C Greek Laws of floating and sinking
Ptolemy 0100 - 0168 Greek Took the earth is the centre of the
universe
Copernicus 1473 - 1543 Polish Took the sun as centre of the
universe
Galileo 1564 - 1642 Italian Invented the telescope and laws of
falling bodies
Kepler 1571 - 1630 German Laws of planetary motion
Hooke 1635 - 1703 English Hooke’s law for elastic materials
Sir Isaac 1642 - 1726 English The spectrum the three new laws of
Newton motion
Newcomen 1663 - 1729 English Invented the steam engine
Fahrenheit 1686 - 1736 German First liquid-in-glass thermometer
Anders 1701 - 1744 Swedish The Celsius of centigrade scale
Celsius
André 1775 - 1836 French Studying electric current
Ampere
James Joule 1818 - 1889 English Experiment on heat

Physics notes form one by Sir Nnoko Maxwell2

 Faraday 1791 - 1867 English The dynamo and electromagnet
Thomas 1847 - 1931 American The light bulb and gramophone
Edison
J.J Thomson 1856 - 1940 English Discovered the electron
Marie Curie 1867 - 1934 Polish/French Separated polonium from radium
Albert 1879 - 1955 German/American Many new theories about light,
Einstein movement, energy and mass.
John Logie 1888 - 1946 Scottish Making television.
Baird
Anomah 1929 - 2011 Cameroonian Cancer and HIV research
Ngu Victor
Bill Gates 1955 - American Computer software
Ernest Simo 1958 - Cameroonian Satellite and cell phone
communication

1.3 Importance of studying science and some careers in science

Below are some importance of studying science.
1) Science changes our way of thinking: at first, people used to think that thunderstorm
was the result God’s anger on man. In addition, evil spirits etc. caused diseases.
2) Science keeps us in good health: the discovery of drugs, vaccines, techniques and
training of personnel to work in clinics, pharmacies and hospitals has greatly reduced the
spread and cure of some diseases. E.g. chickenpox, smallpox, HIV and Aids
3) Science provides us with shelter and comfortable homes: it provides us with modern
and comfortable homes, electricity to light our homes, pipe-borne water for drinking,
washing machines etc.
4) Science makes communication easy: it provides us with computers, internet, radio,
television, and telephone all used for communication.
5) Science makes travel easy: motors, cars, trains, bicycles, ships, airplanes, etc. ease
traveling.
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6) Science has produced things used for entertainment and enjoyment at leisure:
television receiver, VCD player, DVD player, musical sets all permits us to enjoy leisure
times.
7) Science makes work easier: caterpillars, tractors and many other machines replacing
hoes, cutlasses for clearing and digging roads, drilling machines for digging holes, lifts and
pulleys used in tall buildings for lifting, are all thanks to science.
Careers in science
After studying science, you can become:
 A medical doctor, nurse, medical laboratory technician, pharmacist, computer
science engineer, telecommunication engineer, pilot, electronic repairer, computer
maintenance worker, dentist, veterinary assistant, agricultural engineer etc.

1.4 Introduction to physics

The word physics stems from the Greek word meaning “knowledge of nature or matter”.
Definitions:
 Physics is the study of matter and energy in all its forms.
 Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space.
 Energy is the ability or capacity to do work
 An expert in physics is known as a physicist
 A physician is one qualified to practice medicine and surgery.
Role of a physicist
 Explains why things happen the way they do
 Alternatively, use laws to describe and theories to explain natural happenings.
1.4.1 Branches of physics
To ease the study of physics, it is divided into different branches
a) Mechanics: study of motion and forces causing them
b) Heat: study of how warm or cold a body is
c) Sound: study of vibrations which may be audible or not.
d) Optics: study of light energy.
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e) Magnetism: study of forces between magnets and magnetic materials
f) Waves: study of transmission of vibrations in materials of space.
g) Electricity: study of charges in motion and their effects.
h) Atomic physics: study of an atom and their nuclear processes associated to it.

1.4.2 Application of physics in everyday life

Knowledge of physics is needed in everyday life to:
 Construct a computer study pollution of air, land and water
 Make new materials take scans of the human body.
 Set up satellite communication detect flaws in structures
 Reduce the noise in structures predict earthquakes.
 Harness energy of all kinds save premature babies from dying
 Detect and solve crimes.
1.5 basic laboratory equipment found in a physics laboratory
Clamp and stand, ruler, pendulum, magnets, stopwatch, glass block, glass prism, battery,
cell, resistor, capacitor, test tube, burette, calorimeter, resonance tube, turning fork, spring,
micrometer screw gauge, Vernier calipers, thermometers, voltmeters, ammeter,
multimeter, heater, pulley, lenses, mirrors
1.6 safety rules for working in a physics laboratory
1) Do not play or run in a physics lab
2) Do not play with equipment
3) Follow your teacher’s instructions before touching or operating any equipment
4) Do not eat or drink in the lab
5) Let the teacher do experimental checkup before you run your experiment
6) Report to your teacher if you break or spoil any laboratory equipment.
7) Write a lab report for each experiment following the order: aim, setup,
method/observation, measurement, evaluation, results and conclusion. If possible, include
precautions taken and assumptions made.

Physics notes form one by Sir Nnoko Maxwell5

1.7 SCIENTIFIC METHOD - PART 1
Definition: it is the step-by-step orderly process followed by scientists when carrying out
experiment.
These orderly steps comprises:
 Observation: scientists carefully observe the things happening around us. For
example, cooling of water and turning into ice when in a refrigerator.
 Question: scientists ask questions on how and why about what they observed. For
example, how will the water cool and why will it cool in the refrigerator.
 Hypothesis: scientists come up with an idea about what may be the reason. This
idea is called a guess. For example, he/she may think the water cool because heat
has been withdrawn from the water while in the refrigerator.
 Experiment: designs and carries out a controlled experiment to test his/her
experiment. For example, puts one in the refrigerator and the other on the table.
 Results: make measurements to determine the outcome of the experiment. For
example, remove the water from the refrigerator and test its temperature with his/her
hand and compared with that on the table.
 Conclusion: draws conclusion from the results of the experiment on whether the
hypothesis was true or false. If false, he/she immediately changes the hypothesis.
For example, since the water from the refrigerator is cooler than that on the table, it
signifies heat must have been removed from the water while in the refrigerator.
Example
Emade’s school uniform got wet while coming back from school. She washed and
spread it on a line at their balcony and her pants in their room. Use the scientific method
to explain what would happen to her uniform.
Solution
 Observation: the uniform exposed at the balcony dries faster than her pant
 Question: why does the uniform at the balcony dry faster than her pant?
 Hypothesis: because the uniform was exposed while the pant was not.

Physics notes form one by Sir Nnoko Maxwell6

  Experiment: two similar dresses of the same wetness are dried, one spread on a
line in an open air on a sunny day and the other spread on a line in the room
without a heating source.
 Results: after three hours, the level of wetness of both dresses were tested by
touching each in turn with the hand.
 Conclusion: the dress from the sun had dried more than the dress from the room.
This indicates the hypothesis was correct.
Exercise
A pot of water has just been put on fire in your house. The following are some
hypothesis:
a) The temperature of the water depends on the amount of heat supplied to it.
b) Heat has no effect on the temperature of the water
For each of these hypotheses, state a scientific method to test each of the stated hypotheses.

1.8 Measurements
Definitions:
 Measurement is determining the size, quantity weight, or mass of a given substance.
 A physical quantity is a property that can be observed, touched and measured. E.g.
mass, speed, etc.
There are two types of measurements (observation):
a) Qualitative measurement: is an observation that can be measured using a measuring
instrument. A specific numerical value is assigned to it. For example, Ali is 1.7 m tall.
b) Qualitative measurement: it does not involve numbers because it does not make use
of a measuring instrument. E.g. Ndole is delicious.

1.9) Estimation of quantities

An estimate is a careful guess using our senses. It is a rough idea of the size of a quantity.
It can be used to check on whether the results of complex calculations make sense. They
provide a quick idea about a quantity. For example, a butcher cutting meat, a storekeeper

Physics notes form one by Sir Nnoko Maxwell7

measuring rice, estimating the quantity of food to cook or eat, time to arrive at work or
school.
Measurement on the other hand, give the exact value of a quantity.
1.10 units of measurement
A unit is a standard of measurement accepted universally.
Units are divided into two types: base units and derived units.
1.11 base physical quantities and units
A base unit is one that cannot be gotten from another unit. They are seven in number and
constitute the main units of measurements called SI units.
Base physical quantity Name of SI unit Symbol
of unit
Length metre m
mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Temperature kelvin K
Electric current ampere A
Amount of substance mole mol
Luminous intensity Candela cd

Derived physical quantities are gotten from a combination of two or more base units. For
example,

Physics notes form one by Sir Nnoko Maxwell8

Physics notes form one by Sir Nnoko Maxwell9