Progress in science consists of the development of better explanations for the causes of natural phenomena an example being plate tectonics. It also implies that these physical laws have operated without deviation throughout time. This implies that physical laws operate on many scales-from the smallest atomic particle to the largest, most distant galaxy. These principles, and all science, are based on the assumption that the natural world behaves in a consistent and predictable manner. Underscoring these principles is an appreciation of the immensity of geologic time, which is necessary to understanding both the physical and biological history of Earth. Geoscience FundamentalsĪstronomers, geologists, archaeologists, and paleontologists have done much to help clarify the geologic past, in particular, the formation of some fundamental principles such as uniformitarianism, superposition and original horizontality, cross-cutting relationships, lateral continuity, faunal succession, organic extinction, organic evolution, and plate tectonics. In historical sciences inferences are made and then tested against data obtained from observational/experimental science such as chemistry, physics, and biology. Astronomy, geology, paleontology, evolutionary biology, and archaeology are all historical sciences. Scientific disciplines that make logical inferences about past phenomenon are called historical sciences. Thus, scientists (and you) can learn about the natural world even if they cannot directly observe a phenomenon. In geology, rocks document events known to have occurred, for example volcanic eruption, but were not observed, in many cases because humans were not living yet. They must make inferences about the weight, speed, and other properties of the particles based on other observations. For instance, particle physicists cannot directly observe subatomic particles because the particles are too small to observe directly. Much scientific discovery is done through indirect experimentation and observation in which inferences are made. Explanations of physical and biological phenomenon that are not based on empirical evidence from observations or experiments are not a part of science (Ayala et al. In science, explanations are limited to those based on observations and experiments that can be repeated and substantiated by other scientists. Science is a particular way of knowing about the world. For example, when reading a ruler you may read the length of a pencil as being 11.4 centimeters (cm), while your friend may read it as 11.3 cm.Geologic maps are used to display information about the physical properties of earth materials, geospatial relationships, geologic age, and interpretive research for a region. Estimation error can occur when reading measurements on some instruments.Examples of this are when a phone number is copied incorrectly or when a number is skipped when typing data into a computer program from a data sheet. Transcriptional error occurs when data is recorded or written down incorrectly.Two types of human error are transcriptional error and estimation error. Human error is due to carelessness or to the limitations of human ability. If two people are rounding, and one rounds down and the other rounds up, this is procedural error. Procedural error occurs when different procedures are used to answer the same question and provide slightly different answers. For example, if you are trying to measure the mass of an apple on a scale, and your classroom is windy, the wind may cause the scale to read incorrectly.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |