CHAPTER 1

The Nature of Science

“Science is the most powerful way of knowing. Through

science we push back the curtains of ignorance and reveal the
deepest secrets of nature. And implicit in this is that through
science, as we acquire more and more knowledge, life will get better
for people.” –David Suzuki Picture Not Mine. Credits to the owner.

Intended Learning Outcome (ILO):

Pre-service Teachers will be able demonstrate knowledge and understanding on the nature, goals
and processes of science (CLO 1)

Preparation
Chapter 1 dwells on The Nature of Science. It is important to clarify what it
is about the nature of science that we want our learners to understand. We can
begin by asking ourselves: what is science?

Introductory Activity: Through a PADLET App share your views on “What is

Science? How is Science a part of your lives?”

Presentation
Videoclip: The Nature of Science
http://youtube.com/watch?v=77TFiYWPxoQ

What is science?

The word "science" probably brings to mind many different pictures: a fat textbook, white lab coats and
microscopes, an astronomer peering through a telescope, a naturalist in the rainforest, Einstein's
equations scribbled on a chalkboard, the launch of the space shuttle, bubbling beakers …. All of those
images reflect some aspect of science, but none of them provides a full picture because science has so
many facets:

 Science as a broad body of knowledge. Physical Sciences consist of disciplines such as

physics (the science of physical objects), chemistry (the science of matter), and astronomy (the
science of celestial objects). Earth Sciences consist of disciplines such as geology (the science of
the earth).
 Science as a set of skills. The Science process skills form the foundation of scientific methods.
There are six basic science process skills: observation, communication, classification,
measurement, inference, and prediction. These basic skills are integrated when scientists design
and carry out experiments. All basic skills are important individually as well as when they are
integrated.
 Science as an intellectual activity. Science is the intellectual, practical, and systematic study
of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and
experiment.
 Science as a social activity. Science is a social activity shaped by history, institutions, beliefs,
and values. Society shapes science and vice versa.
 Science as problem-solving. Problem-solving skills are necessary in all areas of life, and the
science class provides the students opportunity to develop and utilize their problem-solving skills,

SCI-M 3218 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades (Physics, Earth and Space Science). This is NOT for sale. This is for instruction purposes

only. Figures, tables, pictures and illustrations used are not mine. CREDITS TO THE OWNERS/CREATORS. No copyright infringement intended . / Suzette T. Elladora / Page 3
 which include the ability to critically analyze a problem, determine all its elements, and prepare a
feasible solution. These are valuable skills one can acquire in life.
 Science as a career. Individuals who have devoted themselves in studying and doing science
have established careers in science, such as biologists, chemists, environmentalists, astronomers,
medical practitioners, among others.
 Science as a global human endeavor. Science is a result of human imagination, ingenuity,
and creativity. Individuals and teams from many nations and cultures have contributed to science
and to advances in technology.
 Science as a process. The scientific method is a set of steps for verifying and building scientific
knowledge. When performing this process, one employs skills necessary to research a topic,
develop a plan and timeline, and draw conclusions from research results.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

There are basic methods of gaining knowledge that are common

to all of science. At the heart of science is the scientific investigation,
which is done by following the scientific method. A scientific
investigation is a plan for asking questions and testing possible answers.
It generally follows the steps listed in the Figure below. See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcavPAFiG14& for an overview of
the scientific method.

Making Observations
A scientific investigation typically begins with observations. You make observations all the time.
Let’s say you take a walk in the woods and observe a moth resting on a tree trunk. You notice that the
moth has spots on its wings that look like eyes. You think the eye spots make the moth look like the face
of an owl.

Asking a Question
Observations often lead to questions. For example, you might ask yourself why the moth has eye
spots that make it look like an owl’s face. What reason might there be for this observation?

SCI-M 3218 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades (Physics, Earth and Space Science). This is NOT for sale. This is for instruction purposes

only. Figures, tables, pictures and illustrations used are not mine. CREDITS TO THE OWNERS/CREATORS. No copyright infringement intended . / Suzette T. Elladora / Page 4
Forming a Hypothesis
The next step in a scientific investigation is forming a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a possible
answer to a scientific question, but it isn’t just any answer. A hypothesis must be based on scientific
knowledge, and it must be logical. A hypothesis also must be falsifiable. In other words, it must be
possible to make observations that would disprove the hypothesis if it really is false. Assume you know
that some birds eat moths and that owls prey on other birds. From this knowledge, you reason that eye
spots scare away birds that might eat the moth. This is your hypothesis.

Testing the Hypothesis

To test a hypothesis, you first need to make a prediction based on the hypothesis. A prediction is
a statement that tells what will happen under certain conditions. It can be expressed in the form: If A
occurs, then B will happen. Based on your hypothesis, you might make this prediction: If a moth has eye
spots on its wings, then birds will avoid eating it. Next, you must gather evidence to test your prediction.
Evidence is any type of data that may either agree or disagree with a prediction, so it may either support
or disprove a hypothesis. Assume that you gather evidence by making more observations of moths with
eye spots. Perhaps you observe that birds really do avoid eating the moths. This evidence agrees with
your prediction.

Drawing Conclusions
Evidence that agrees with your prediction supports your hypothesis. Does such evidence prove
that your hypothesis is true? No; a hypothesis cannot be proven conclusively to be true. This is because
you can never examine all of the possible evidence, and someday evidence might be found that
disproves or refutes the hypothesis. Nonetheless, the more evidence that supports a hypothesis, the
more likely the hypothesis is to be true.

Communicating Results
The last step in a scientific investigation is communicating what you have learned with others.
This is a very important step because it allows others to test your hypothesis. If other researchers get
the same results as yours, they add support to the hypothesis. However, if they get different results,
they may disprove the hypothesis. When scientists share their results, they should describe their
methods and point out any possible problems with the investigation. For example, while you were
observing moths, perhaps your presence scared birds away. This introduces an error into your
investigation. You got the results you predicted (the birds avoided the moths while you were observing
20 of them), but not for the reason you hypothesized. Other researchers might be able to think of ways
to avoid this error in future studies.

EXPERIMENTS
An experiment is a special type of scientific investigation that is performed under
controlled conditions, usually in a laboratory. Some experiments can be very simple, but even
the simplest contributed important evidence that helped scientists better understand the natural
world.
Variables. An experiment generally tests how one variable is affected by another. The affected
variable is called the dependent variable. In the plant experiment shown above, the dependent variable
is plant growth. The variable that affects the dependent variable is called the independent variable. In
the plant experiment, the independent variable is fertilizer—some plants will get fertilizer, others will not.
In any experiment, other factors that might affect the dependent variable must be controlled. In the
plant experiment, what factors do you think should be controlled? (Hint: What other factors might affect
plant growth?

SCI-M 3218 – Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades (Physics, Earth and Space Science). This is NOT for sale. This is for instruction purposes

only. Figures, tables, pictures and illustrations used are not mine. CREDITS TO THE OWNERS/CREATORS. No copyright infringement intended . / Suzette T. Elladora / Page 5