Environmental Science

October 27 and 28

Welcome!

Paradigm(noun)

A theory or a group of ideas about how something should be done, made, or thought about.

“Professor Abdus-Salaam’s surprising new findings challenged the old paradigm.”

• By the time the bell rings– In your seat– Notebook open– Mind open

Welcome!

Algorithm(noun)

A set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process.

“Asia’s innovative algorithm predicted the date the hole in the ozone would close.”

• By the time the bell rings– In your seat– Notebook open– Mind open

The major goals of ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

1. To understand and 2. To solve

environmental problems.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE is

interdisciplinary.

Inter = Together, between, amongDiscipline = Field of study

Natural sciences• Study natural

phenomena.• Examples?

– Biology – Chemistry– Physics

Social sciences• Study the interactions of

human groups.• Examples?

– Economics– Political science– Sociology– Anthropology

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ARE CHALLENGING BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE.

Example: The hole in the ozone layer

Summary question

• Explain why many fields of study were needed to fix the hole in the ozone layer

Objective

• Apply the five steps of scientific investigation.

By the end of class, students will be able to:

Science is the attempt of people to understand the objects and events they experience in nature.

There is no ONE way to do science

“THE scientific method” is a myth

Nevertheless, much scientific thinking follows a similar pattern

Step 1: A causal question

“Why does my cat keep vomiting?”

(A causal question asks about the cause of something)

Causal v. Noncausal questions

• Causal Asking for a CAUSE– Why does my cat vomit?– Why is the sky blue?

• Noncausal Asking for a DESCRIPTION– How much does my cat weigh?– What color is the sky?

Step 2: Make a hypothesis(possible answer to the causal question)

“Maybe it’s the cat food I bought him.”

Step 3: Predict the results of an experiment

“If I switch to a different brand of cat food, then he should stop vomiting.”

(A prediction is the expected results of an experiment if your hypothesis is true)

Hypotheses v. Predictions

Hypotheses• Perhaps my cat is vomiting

because of the cat food I bought him

• Maybe my plant is wilted because it doesn’t get enough water

Predictions• If I switch to a different

brand of cat food, then he should stop vomiting

• If I water my plant, it should stop wilting

Step 4: Conducting the experiment and getting results.

“I fed him another brand of cat food, and now he’s not vomiting.”

Step 5: Making a conclusion about the hypothesis.

“The cat’s vomiting was caused by a particular brand of cat food.”

A model of scientific inquiryCausal question

Hypothesis Prediction Actual result Conclusion

Encounter with new unexplained phenomena

Idea to explain phenomena

The expected result of an experiment if the hypothesis is correct

What actually happens

Are the hypotheses supported or contradicted?

Correlation versus Experiments

Reflect on the work you have done this semester and decide what grade you feel you have earned. Write a justification explaining what grade you have earned. Justify your answer by writing, as completely as possible, a list of the work you have completed.

Exit ticket

• Why are experiments better than correlation?