Thinking Like A Scientist (1.3)
- 1. Thinking Like a Scientist 1.3
- 2. Vocabulary Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half, “hotdog” style.
- 3. Vocabulary Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half, “hotdog” style. Cut the outside into four, even, horizontal sections.
- 4. Vocabulary Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half, “hotdog” style. Cut the outside into four, even, horizontal sections. You will write the vocabulary word on the top of the closed flap...
- 5. Vocabulary Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half, “hotdog” style. Cut the outside into four, even, horizontal sections. You will write the vocabulary word on the top of the closed flap... ... the definition on the underside of the flap ...
- 6. Vocabulary Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half, “hotdog” style. Cut the outside into four, even, horizontal sections. You will write the vocabulary word on the top of the closed flap... ... the definition on the underside of the flap ... ... and a memory trigger/image in the space beneath the flap.
- 7. Vocabulary
- 8. Vocabulary Scientific Method – a logical, systematic approach to the solution of a scientific problem Observation – information obtained from using human senses Hypothesis – proposed explanation for an observation Manipulated Variable – (independent variable) the variable that a scientist changes during an experiment
- 9. Vocabulary Responding Variable – (dependent variable) the variable that the scientist measures during an experiment Experiment – procedure that is used to test a hypothesis Theory – a well tested hypothesis that has made predictions which have successfully come true and is the only surviving explanation for the observations Scientific Law – a statement that summarizes a regularly occurring observation
- 10. Scientific Method NEWS FLASH: You've been lied to! There is no such thing as THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Scientists do, however, work through a similar thought process:
- 11. Inside the brain of scientists:
- 12. Inside the brain of scientists:
- 13. Inside the brain of scientists:
- 14. Inside the brain of scientists:
- 15. Inside the brain of scientists:
- 16. From hypothesis to theory. (True story.) Dr. Ernest Ersatz sat in his home one day, watching his toddler son play on the ground.
- 17. From hypothesis to theory. (True story.) Dr. Ernest Ersatz sat in his home one day, watching his toddler son play on the ground. Both he and his son noticed a penny on the floor.
- 18. From hypothesis to theory. (True story.) Dr. Ernest Ersatz sat in his home one day, watching his toddler son play on the ground. Both he and his son noticed a penny on the floor. What do you think happened?
- 19. From hypothesis to theory. (True story.) Sure enough, his son picked up the penny and popped it in his mouth.
- 20. From hypothesis to theory. (True story.) Sure enough, his son picked up the penny and popped it in his mouth. Dr. Ersatz, a new parent, felt a thought gnawing at his brain, “Oh my goodness, my child is going to choke on the penny and die!”
- 21. From hypothesis to theory. (True story.) Sure enough, his son picked up the penny and popped it in his mouth. Dr. Ersatz, a new parent, felt a thought gnawing at his brain, “Oh my goodness, my child is going to choke on the penny and die!” However, being a scientist, he decided to focus on his question, “Can a penny kill you?”
- 22. From hypothesis to theory. (True story.) Sure enough, his son picked up the penny and popped it in his mouth. Dr. Ersatz, a new parent, felt a thought gnawing at his brain, “Oh my goodness, my child is going to choke on the penny and die!” However, being a scientist, he decided to focus on his question, “Can a penny kill you?” Note: Not all experiments are started by hypotheses. Some only need questions.
- 23. He did an experiment. Armed with his hypothesis, and a child with a taste for riches, Dr. Ersatz set about designing his experiment.
- 24. He did an experiment. Armed with his hypothesis, and a child with a taste for riches, Dr. Ersatz set about designing his experiment. How can Dr. Ersatz test whether pennies can kill people without committing murder?
- 25. He did an experiment. Armed with his hypothesis, and a child with a taste for riches, Dr. Ersatz set about designing his experiment. How can Dr. Ersatz test whether pennies can kill people without committing murder? He did research at the library, by looking up old obituaries in order to see if any deaths were caused by the ingestion of money.
- 26. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ Pennies are not uniquely a source of danger. There are two notable and curious cases, 2,3 which I will not go into here except briefly, of other kinds of coins being involved with death.”
- 27. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ Pennies are not uniquely a source of danger. There are two notable and curious cases, 2,3 which I will not go into here except briefly, of other kinds of coins being involved with death.” “ A 50-yen coin and/or a 100-yen coin can kill you, as researchers at Osaka University Medical School have discovered.”
- 28. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ Pennies are not uniquely a source of danger. There are two notable and curious cases, 2,3 which I will not go into here except briefly, of other kinds of coins being involved with death.” “ A 50-yen coin and/or a 100-yen coin can kill you, as researchers at Osaka University Medical School have discovered.” “ Although I was not able to find a case in which a single penny killed an adult human being ... There is no controversy as to whether several pennies, together, can do you in. Pennies in quantity unquestionably can be instruments of death.”
- 29. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ Four hundred sixty-one pennies can kill you. Investigators at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center claim credit for the discovery. In their words:”
- 30. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ This is the first reported case of human fatality associated with zinc intoxication following a massive ingestion of coins.
- 31. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ This is the first reported case of human fatality associated with zinc intoxication following a massive ingestion of coins. Four hundred and sixty-one coins were removed from the gastrointestinal tract of a schizophrenic patient during the course of hospitalization.
- 32. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ This is the first reported case of human fatality associated with zinc intoxication following a massive ingestion of coins. Four hundred and sixty-one coins were removed from the gastrointestinal tract of a schizophrenic patient during the course of hospitalization. Many of the post-1981 pennies ... showed severe corrosion due to their prolonged contact with acidic gastric juice.
- 33. The data showed ... (quotes from his published article) “ This is the first reported case of human fatality associated with zinc intoxication following a massive ingestion of coins. Four hundred and sixty-one coins were removed from the gastrointestinal tract of a schizophrenic patient during the course of hospitalization. Many of the post-1981 pennies ... showed severe corrosion due to their prolonged contact with acidic gastric juice. The patient ... died 40 days after admission with multi-system organ failure.”
- 34. Now, he had a hypothesis! Dr. Ersatz now felt comfortable defining his hypothesis, “A Penny’s Not Going to Kill You.” (also the name of his journal article)
- 35. Now, he had a hypothesis! Dr. Ersatz now felt comfortable defining his hypothesis, “A Penny’s Not Going to Kill You.” (also the name of his journal article) He was excited, perhaps his hypothesis can become a theory.
- 36. Now, he had a hypothesis! Dr. Ersatz now felt comfortable defining his hypothesis, “A Penny’s Not Going to Kill You.” (also the name of his journal article) He was excited, perhaps his hypothesis can become a theory. In order to do so, it needs to be extensively tested , but he was already bored with research ...
- 37. Now, he had a hypothesis! Dr. Ersatz now felt comfortable defining his hypothesis, “A Penny’s Not Going to Kill You.” (also the name of his journal article) He was excited, perhaps his hypothesis can become a theory. In order to do so, it needs to be extensively tested , but he was already bored with research ... ... and in the United States, committing murder, even for science, is illegal .
- 38. So he asked for help ... He decided to communicate the results of his research in hopes that other scientists would help him test his hypothesis.
- 39. So he asked for help ... He decided to communicate the results of his research in hopes that other scientists would help him test his hypothesis. He wrote it up into a journal article (a lab report that is published in a magazine called a “journal”).
- 40. So he asked for help ... He sent the journal article off to a prestigious journal to be published: The Annals of Improbable Research.
- 42. Help him out. Can you think of even one different explanation that works as well or better?
- 43. Help him out. Can you think of even one different explanation that works as well or better? Did the test really, really, truly, unquestionably, completely test what the author thought he was testing?
- 44. Help him out. Can you think of even one different explanation that works as well or better? Did the test really, really, truly, unquestionably, completely test what the author thought he was testing? Is the scientist ruthlessly honest with himself about how well his idea explains everything, or could he be suffering from wishful thinking?
- 45. Homework Access the Annals of Improbable Research @ http://improbable.com/ You do not have to pay for low-res PDFs (and do you really need a high-res picture of a penny?) Find an article of your choice and peer review it by answering the “Help him out” questions about your article of choice. No need to print the article, unless you think that others won't believe it exists.