I think science means problem solving. Science is a series of steps. First, we start with question. We then have to come up with an idea about what we think is happening, this is called the hypothesis. Then we need to decide how we are going to prove if we are on the right track so we choose some ways we can check, these become our experimental aims. Then we decide how we can carry out our aims, which techniques, methods and equipment we will need. Then we do our experiments! During the experiments we record our observations and results. At the end of the experiment we decide if we have answered our question. Most of the time we are able to answer the question we had at the beginning, but then we come up with more questions that need answers! Science is just one big puzzle to solve!
Elise nicely described the “scientific method” we all follow in our daily research work. It guides us and makes sure we do things in a consistent and reproducible manner.
At the heart of it all “science” is how we describe the world around us in a formal manner. Scientists like us help find out how and why things are the way they are. We then make that information available to everyone else so they too can understand how things work.
I think there are two common meanings of the word ‘science’. One is to say science is a body of knowledge, all of the things we have found out about the world through observations and evidence. Another is science as a process, the way that we go about finding out about things based on using the scientific method, logic and reason.
Mike McRae from CSIRO has written a really good book about what science is, it’s called ‘Tribal Science’ and you might like to see if your library can get a copy.
I think Elise, Dirk and Renee have described what ‘science’ is really well! But just to be really literal about meaning, the word ‘science’ comes from the Latin word ‘scientia’ which means ‘knowledge’.
“[Science is a ] knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method”
The scientific method varies between disciplines, but its essence is repeatability. If others can repeat my experiment and get the same result then it is probably a scientific method.
@Elise describes science as a series of steps starting with a question, forming a hypothesis, making experiments and then reaching a conclusion. It is a good template, but science is not always so orderly. Sometimes we poke into things just because we want to see what will happen without having a good question. Sometimes we are testing on one thing and find a totally unrelated, but much more interesting thing along the way.
Of course, you need to be working and trying things to even have accidents, so most of the time we are busy doing “science” while waiting for an accident that will make us famous!
I think science means problem solving. Science is a series of steps. First, we start with question. We then have to come up with an idea about what we think is happening, this is called the hypothesis. Then we need to decide how we are going to prove if we are on the right track so we choose some ways we can check, these become our experimental aims. Then we decide how we can carry out our aims, which techniques, methods and equipment we will need. Then we do our experiments! During the experiments we record our observations and results. At the end of the experiment we decide if we have answered our question. Most of the time we are able to answer the question we had at the beginning, but then we come up with more questions that need answers! Science is just one big puzzle to solve!
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Elise nicely described the “scientific method” we all follow in our daily research work. It guides us and makes sure we do things in a consistent and reproducible manner.
At the heart of it all “science” is how we describe the world around us in a formal manner. Scientists like us help find out how and why things are the way they are. We then make that information available to everyone else so they too can understand how things work.
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I think there are two common meanings of the word ‘science’. One is to say science is a body of knowledge, all of the things we have found out about the world through observations and evidence. Another is science as a process, the way that we go about finding out about things based on using the scientific method, logic and reason.
Mike McRae from CSIRO has written a really good book about what science is, it’s called ‘Tribal Science’ and you might like to see if your library can get a copy.
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I think Elise, Dirk and Renee have described what ‘science’ is really well! But just to be really literal about meaning, the word ‘science’ comes from the Latin word ‘scientia’ which means ‘knowledge’.
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I will go with the Merriam-Webster definition http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/science
“[Science is a ] knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method”
The scientific method varies between disciplines, but its essence is repeatability. If others can repeat my experiment and get the same result then it is probably a scientific method.
@Elise describes science as a series of steps starting with a question, forming a hypothesis, making experiments and then reaching a conclusion. It is a good template, but science is not always so orderly. Sometimes we poke into things just because we want to see what will happen without having a good question. Sometimes we are testing on one thing and find a totally unrelated, but much more interesting thing along the way.
Here are some accidental discoveries and inventions from cornflakes to microwaves to slinkies: http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/9-things-invented-or-discovered-by-accident1.htm
Of course, you need to be working and trying things to even have accidents, so most of the time we are busy doing “science” while waiting for an accident that will make us famous!
🙂
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