Chapter 1 The Scientific Endeavour

Learning Outcomes:

You should be able to:

show an awareness that Science is not confined to the laboratory, but is manifested in all aspects of our lives
show a healthy curiosity about the natural phenomena in the world
show an appreciation of Science being a human endeavour, with scientific knowledge contributed by different civilisations over the centuries
recognise that scientific evidence can be quantitative or qualitative, and can be gathered through one’s senses or instruments
show an understanding of how scientific knowledge is built from systematic collection, analyses of and reasoning from evidence
show an awareness that scientific evidence is subject to multiple interpretations
use scientific inquiry skills such as posing questions, planning, and carrying out investigations, evaluating experimental results and communicating findings
show an understanding that accuracy refers to the closeness of agreement between a measured value and the true value of what is being measured
show an understanding that precision of measurement refers to the closeness of agreement between measured values obtained by repeated measurements
identify zero errors as the condition where the measuring instrument registers a reading when there should not be any reading
identify parallax error as an error in reading an instrument as a result of not viewing the measurement scale from the correct position
[optional] show an understanding that measurement errors may exist due to errors that are either unpredictable (e.g., human error) and / or consistent (e.g., zero error of instrument)
show attitudes such as creativity, objectivity, integrity, open-mindedness, and perseverance in carrying out scientific inquiry
demonstrate safety consciousness and adopt safe practices when carrying out investigations
discuss the beneficial and harmful consequences of scientific and technological applications to society
relate applications of Science to some social and ethical issues
state some current limitations of science and technology in solving societal problems
recognise the need to be responsible towards society and the environment in using technology and scientific knowledge