7th GradeTHURSDAY 9/4/2014

Picture this scene:

“A doctor and a lawyer meet in the middle of a busy street. They shake hands, and both

head to work.”

In your Do-Now section of your notebook, draw a picture or describe what the lawyer and the

doctor looks like (what they’re wearing, what they look like, etc.)

DO-NOW

WHAT DID YOU DRAW???

“Understand that prior expectations

can create biases when conducting

scientific investigations.”

What the heck does that mean?

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

What is a “bias?”

-Raise your hand quietly if you think you have a definition!

Bias: the tendency of humans to value one idea over another, or to represent an idea unfairly.

DEFINITION OF THE DAY (WRITE IN YOUR BINDER)

But Mr. Herath….

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SCIENCE?!?!?

Mr. Whelan yel ls “JUMP!” at the frog and the frog jumps one meter.

Then he cuts off one of the frog’s legs, yel ls “ JUMP!” and the frog jumps half a meter.

Then he cuts off another of the frog’s legs, yel ls “JUMP!” and the frog jumps a fi fth of a meter.

Then he cuts off a third leg, yel ls “ JUMP!” and the frog does not jump. He yells “JUMP!” again, and the frog does not jump.

“Aha!” he says. “ I have my result!” So he careful ly writes in his lab book: “When three legs are removed, a frog becomes deaf.”

A BAD SCIENCE JOKE… *GROAN

Talk to your partner next to you and decide whether Mr. Whelan’s

conclusion is useful data!

GO!

Raise your hands!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What’s a better conclusion to reach?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Mr. Whelan yel ls “JUMP!” at the frog and the frog jumps one meter.

Then he cuts off one of the frog’s legs, yel ls “ JUMP!” and the frog jumps half a meter.

Then he cuts off another of the frog’s legs, yel ls “JUMP!” and the frog jumps a fi fth of a meter.

Then he cuts off a third leg, yel ls “ JUMP!” and the frog does not jump. He yells “JUMP!” again, and the frog does not jump.

“Aha!” he says. “ I have my result!” So he careful ly writes in his lab book: “When three legs are removed, a frog can’t jump anymore.

A BAD SCIENCE JOKE… *GROAN

Do you drink bottled water exclusively over tap water, or

do you prefer tap water to bottled water?

*Think about why you pick either option!

Think and share with your partner for two minutes!

HERE’S A QUESTION….

It’s cleanerTastes betterMore natural

WHAT ARE SOME CLAIMS YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT BOTTLED WATER VS

TAP WATER?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LisE9wEdGbw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0

We have a lot of biases in our daily lives (Think about how we picture certain professions and people)!

As scientists, we want to limit our biases and make sure our research and experiments are useful.

For the MCAs, we want to make sure we know how to look at an experiment and decide whether it’s valuable data!

IMPORTANT POINTS FOR TODAY

Science is OBJECTIVE!What does it mean for something to

be objective?

OUR LEARNING GOAL SIMPLIFIED…

As scientists, we need to know whether our research and our

experiments are fair, objective, and produce useful data!

OUR LEARNING GOAL SIMPLIFIED…

Objective: to be uninfluenced by feelings and emotions! *It’s the opposite of being subjective!

LAST DEFINITION OF THE DAY (I PROMISE)