Science Framework, part 1 - Free Downloads (CA Dept of Education)

16The Nature of Scienceand TechnologyScience is the study of nature at alllevels, from the infinite to theinfinitesimal. It is the asking andanswering of questions about naturalprocesses or phenomena that are directlyobserved or indirectly inferred.From these questions and answerscome tentative explanations called hypotheses,which lead to testable predictionsabout the natural processes andphenomena. Hypotheses that withstandrigorous testing of predictions willgradually lead to an accretion of factsand principles, which serve as the foundationof scientific theories. Scientificknowledge gives rise to many technologiesthat drive the economy and improvethe quality of life for people. Theterm technology embraces not only tools(e.g., computers) but also methods,materials, and applications of scientificknowledge.Scientific knowledge and technologybuilt on that knowledge have expanded—onemight even sayexploded—in the last 50 years. Thevery nature of science as a humanendeavor has made this expansion possible.Scientific research and developmentare both collaborative andinternational; literally millions of menand women around the world participatein the science and engineeringenterprise.To stay current with scientific developments,school science programsneed to develop partnerships with library-mediacenters, museums, scienceand technology centers, colleges anduniversities, industry, and subject matterprojects to build support for suchprograms.The Scientific MethodThe scientific method is a processfor predicting, on the basis of a handfulof scientific principles, what will happennext in a natural sequence ofevents. Because of its success, this inventionof the human mind is used inmany fields of study. The scientificmethod is a flexible, highly creativeprocess built on three broad assumptions:• Change occurs in observable patternsthat can be extended by logic to predictwhat will happen next.• Anyone can observe something andapply logic.• Scientific discoveries are replicable.The first assumption may be contrastedwith the idea that the complexityof the natural world is so great as tobe outside human understanding. Scienceasserts that change occurs in patternswithin the human capability toperceive, that these patterns may bediscerned by observation, and that thechanges are subject to logic. The simplelogic of if-A-then-B suffices to understandsimple patterns; complex patternsrequire the more complex logic expressedin mathematics. The concentrationof thought that mathematics