What is STEM?

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Science( from the Latin word scientia, meaning “knowledge”), is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge(observations) about the natural world in the form of testable explanations (hypotheses) and predictions(models) . Scientific theories are hypotheses that have been supported by a body of evidence collected by multiple independent observers.

What is technology?

Technology (from the Greek words -ology (knowledge of) and techne- (arts)) is the practical knowledge of how to make or fabricate things, utilizing both tools and raw materials. Using this knowledge, technologists fabricate technological artifacts(things). Technology advances from the creation of new tools and raw materials, from bronze and iron to CRISPR and microchips.

What is engineering?

Engineering is the design of novel solutions to human problems, typically relying on a model of how materials or systems behave. These models, which are often mathematical, are used to predict the behavior of materials and systems, such as the mechanical strength of materials or their electrical properties. These solutions are constructed by technologists.

The relationship of science, technology, and engineering. Advances in technology and engineering are often based upon the knowledge of new materials and their properties created by scientists, while scientists often rely on new devices and systems and systems created by technologists and engineers.

What is the relationship of math to science, technology, and engineering? The models used by scientists to predict behaviors in the natural world, and the models used by engineers to predict the behavior of designed systems, are typically mathematical in nature.

Below: Calculation of the forces in a beam, by Vicki May-Dartmouth College