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