BIOTECHNOLOGY BELL RINGERS FORSEPTEMBER 21ST, 2010

1. Where do microbes like to grow?

2. What are the three essential ingredients for handwashing?

3. How is an infection transmitted?

BIOTECHNOLOGY OBJECTIVES FORSEPTEMBER 21ST, 2010

We will answer the question of what is Science?

We will analyze how to think and act like a Scientist.

We will go over some great “truths” in Scientific history.

We will go over some current events if time permits.

WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Science is basically predictability

It is using what we know today to give us the ability to predict certain things about the world around us

HOW DOES A SCIENTIST THINK? Anyone can think like

a scientist All scientists do is look

for clues to make predictions

The more clues they have, the better predictions they can make

They use Critical Thinking Skills

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLSCritical thinking skills can be broken into

three categories: Curious, Skeptical, and Flexible

BE CURIOUS Look around and ask questions about things!

Why is the sky blue? How do amoebas eat? How can I get energy from the sun?

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLSBE SKEPTICAL

Don’t always believe the first thing you hear Look for MANY possible explanations, see which

facts support which explanations, and then pick the best one

Do you believe in…… UFOs? Bigfoot? Elvis is still alive? Why? (these may all be true…but is there really any

evidence to support them NOW?)

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLSBE FLEXIBLE

Even after you’ve found one explanation, keep looking!

Sometimes you can find an even better one later.

Don’t be afraid to give up old ideas for new ones, as long as they’ve passed the skepticism test!

PLEASE NOTE!!!!

Critical thinking is not a guarantee of truth.

Even scientists can be fooled by clever hoaxes, or spend years believing erroneous things until new information becomes available.

HOW TO ACT LIKE A SCIENTISTNow that you are thinking like a Scientist,

you can apply your thinking skills to real life through the four step approach

scientist use:The Scientific method

1. Observation2. Hypothesis3. Experiment4. Conclusion

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODObservation

Means carefully watching something around us in an objective way (it can be measured)

The more measurable, the more valuable a predictor it is “It sometimes rains when

the barometer reads 29.3 mm of mercury” is a better predictor than “it sometimes rains when my knee hurts”

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODHypothesis

An educated guess explaining what you are observing or how to change what you are observing If you observed that a

certain house plant grew faster after you gave it some plant food, your hypothesis could be, “Plant food stimulates house plants to grow”

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODExperiment

Testing your hypothesis by designing and carrying out an experiment

The two groups that make up an experiment are the experimental and control

Determine what measurements, or data, you will take to compare the experimental and control

These measurements, or Statistics, must be repeatable as well as relevant

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODExample of an Experiment for “Plant food stimulates house

plants to grow”

You would need to gather a group of plants that were the same species and size as well as growing in identical pots and soil

The experimental group receives the plant food and the control group does not (all other variables – such as sunlight, water received, and temperature of room – must be kept the same for both groups)

The measurements taken could be the plant height, number of leaves, size of leaves, color of the leaves, or whether the plant flowers

The measurements must be repeatable by someone else as well as relevant as a predictor

You must gather enough data and have a sufficient number of subjects in each group

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODConclusion

Judging on the basis of your experiment if your hypothesis is right or wrong.

It usually falls into two categories Correlation Cause-Effect

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODConclusion Continued

Correlation: two things happen together Every time I go ice skating;

I get cold I bruise my bottomI know that both of these happen when I got ice skating, but I don’t

know if one causes the other. Cause-Effect: one thing or event actually causes the

other to happen Every time I go ice skating;

I fall down and I bruise my bottomIn this case, I notice that if I can prevent the first one from happening, I

can prevent the second, therefore, A causes B

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODConclusion Continued

Correlation can be established through observation. You just need to notice two things always seem to occur together

Cause-effect is tougher to establish. Once you’ve noticed two things occurring, you need to TEST to see if they are actually linked to each other. Cause-effect is a better predictor than correlation

WHAT IT ALL BOILS DOWN TOScience is just a way of making predictions

Using medicine X will clear up symptom Z

Using a seat belt will keep you from flying through the window if you are in a wreck

Losing the ozone layer may increase the risk of skin cancer

GREAT “TRUTHS”

4000 B.C. The moon is eaten once each month by a large invisible beast

Truth The moon darkens each month because the angle between the Earth, Moon and Sun changes

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1400 A.D. Diseases are caused by evil spirits that inhabit a body

Truth Diseases are caused by microscopic agents (“germs”), such as bacteria,

viruses, protozoa and fungi

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1500 Flies develop spontaneously from rotten meat

Truth Flies lay their eggs in rotten meat and hatch

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1600 The brain pumps fluid into the muscles to make them bulge and contract

Truth The brain contracts muscles using tiny electrical and chemical signals

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1800 Tyrannosaurus Rex walked vertically and dragged its tail

Truth Tyrannosaurus Rex leaned forwards and its tail balanced it, but it didn’t touch the ground

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1850 The planet Mars is covered with canals that could only be made by intelligent life

Truth Mars is covered by icy cracks that were once rivers

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1900 The Apatosaurus and brontosaurus are two different dinosaurs

Truth Apatosaurus and brontosaurus are the same species

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1970 Saturn is the only planet with rings around it

Truth Uranus and Jupiter also have rings

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1980 Eating eggs makes your cholesterol levels rise

Truth Some people’s cholesterol levels stay the same or go down even if they eat eggs

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1985 Pandas are bears

Truth Pandas are genetically between bears and raccoons

GREAT “TRUTHS”

1990 Tadpoles eat plants, frogs eat meat

Truth Some frogs that eat berries have been found in South America