Tuesday 2 July 2013

Science and the Scientific Method?

Science

Science is a body of knowledge that is acquired through systematic observations of the natural world around us. Science is the 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 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. E.g.: An ecologist observing the behaviours of bluebirds, or a geologist examining a rock formation. Both scientists making observations in order to find patterns in natural phenomena. They just do it outdoors and thus entertain the general public with their behaviour  An astrophysicist photographing distant galaxies and a climatologist sifting data from weather balloons similarly are also scientists making observations, but in more discrete settings.



Science is the systematic observation of natural events and conditions in order to discover facts about them and to formulate laws and principles based on these facts. 2. the organized body of knowledge that is derived from such observations and that can be verified or tested by further investigation. 3. any specific branch of this general body of knowledge, such as biology, physics, geology, or astronomy.
-  Academic Press Dictionary of Science & Technology




What is a scientific method?


The scientific method is a way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments.The steps of the scientific method are to:
-Ask a Question
-Do Background Research
-Construct a Hypothesis
-Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
-Analyse Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
-Communicate Your Results
It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. A "fair test" occurs when you change only one factor (variable) and keep all other conditions the same.
While scientists study how nature works, engineers create new things, such as products, websites, environments, and experiences.The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions. Scientists use the scientific method to search for cause and effect relationships in nature. In other words, they design an experiment so that changes to one item cause something else to vary in a predictable way.If the hypothesis is true,we have to report the results.But if it is wrong think and check if there's a mistake and try again.








What is the engineering design process?


The engineering design process is the set of steps that a designer takes to go from first, identifying a problem or need to, at the end, creating and developing a solution that solves the problem or meets the need.
The steps of the engineering design process are to:

Define the Problem
Do Background Research
Specify Requirements
Create Alternative Solutions
Choose the Best Solution
Do Development Work
Build a Prototype
Test and Redesign

During the engineering design process, designers frequently jump back and forth between steps. Going back to earlier steps is common. This way of working is called iteration, and it is likely that your process will do the same.



Differences between the scientific method and the engineering method.

In the scientific method we are supposed to test the hypothesis.In the engineering method we are supposed to build a prototype and test it.
In the scientific method we are supposed to analyze the result while in the engineering method we are supposed to test and redesign if necessary



No comments:

Post a Comment