What is science?

Science is the concerted human effort to understand or to understand better, the history of the natural world and how the natural world works, with observable physical evidence as to the basis of that understanding. It is done through observation of natural phenomena, and/or through experimentation that tries to simulate natural processes under controlled conditions. Science is a process of thinking

Science is an organized study of knowledge that is based on experimentation. Science is a tool for searching truths of nature. Science is the way of exploring the world. Questioning is the primary or fundamental step in scientific thinking. There are many phenomenon in nature around us which sprout up doubt in our minds. Of course, there may be problems. Let us observe the following experiences, you too can add your observations to enrich the list. 

Why science?

The individual perspective

(Why do people conduct experiments? what are they doing?) In most of the above cases, they’re collecting information to test new ideas or to disprove old ones. (Scientists become famous for discovering new things that change how we think about nature, whether the discovery is a new species of dinosaur or a new way in which atoms bond.) Many scientists find their greatest joy in a previously unknown fact (a discovery) that explains some problem previously not explained, or that overturns some previously accepted idea

The Societal Perspective

If the above-said ideas explain individuals' perspective of science and its relation to the society, one might wonder why societies and nations pay those individuals to experiment in science. Why does a society devote some of its resources to this aspect of developing new knowledge about the natural world, or what has motivated these scientists to devote their lives to develop new knowledge?

How scientists work - Scientific Method

Planning an investigation

How do scientists answer a question or solve a problem they have identified. They use organized ways called scientific methods which help them plan and conduct a study. They use scientific process skills. Which help them to gather, organize, analyze and present their information. Scientific method follows these steps

1) Observe and ask questions

2) Form a hypothesis

3) Plan and experiment

4) Conduct the experiment

5) Draw conclusions and

Step 1 Observe, and ask questions.

• Use your senses to make observation.
• Record one question that you would like to answer.
• Write down what you already know about the topic of your question.
• Decide what other information you need.
• Do research to find more information about your topic

Step 2 Form a Hypothesis.

• Write a possible answer, or hypothesis, to your question.

A hypothesis is a possible answer that can be tested.

• Write your hypothesis in a complete sentence

Step 3 Plan an experiment.

• Decide how to conduct a fair test of your hypothesis by controlling variables. Variables are factors that can affect the outcome of the investigation.

• Water, light are fixed variables. Soil is the changing variable.

• Write down the steps you will follow to do your test.

• List the equipment you need.

• Decide how you will gather and record your data

Step 4 Conduct the experiment.

• Follow the steps you have written.

• Observe and measure carefully.

• Record everything that happens.

• Organize your data so that you can study it carefully

Step 5 Draw conclusions and communicate results.

• Analyze the data you gathered.

• Make charts, tables, or graphs to show your data.

• Write a conclusion. Describe the evidence you used to determine whether your test supported your hypothesis.

• Decide whether your hypothesis is correct or not.

Investigate Further

If your hypothesis is correct…

You may want to pose another question about your topic that you can test.

If your hypothesis is incorrect…

You may want to form another hypothesis and do a test of a different variable.

Do you think Aravind’s new hypothesis is correct? Plan and conduct a test to find it!