The Nature of Inquiry: The penny lab.

http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap1.htm 

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

Fundamentally, the various scientific disciplines are alike in their reliance on evidence, the use of hypothesis and theories, the kinds of logic used, and much more. Nevertheless, scientists differ greatly from one another in what phenomena they investigate and in how they go about their work; in the reliance they place on historical data or on experimental findings and on qualitative or quantitative methods; in their recourse to fundamental principles; and in how much they draw on the findings of other sciences. Still, the exchange of techniques, information, and concepts goes on all the time among scientists, and there are common understandings among them about what constitutes an investigation that is scientifically valid.

Scientific inquiry is not easily described apart from the context of particular investigations. There simply is no fixed set of steps that scientists always follow, no one path that leads them unerringly to scientific knowledge. There are, however, certain features of science that give it a distinctive character as a mode of inquiry. Although those features are especially characteristic of the work of professional scientists, everyone can exercise them in thinking scientifically about many matters of interest in everyday life.

"Just a Theory": 7 Misused Science Words

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=just-a-theory-7-misused-science-words  

"Just a Theory": 7 Misused Science Words From "significant" to "natural," here are seven scientific terms that can prove troublesome for the public and across research disciplines.

1. Hypothesis
The general public so widely misuses the words hypothesis, theory and law that scientists should stop using these terms, writes physicist Rhett Allain of Southeastern Louisiana University, in a blog post on Wired Science. [Amazing Science: 25 Fun Facts]

2. Just a theory?
Climate-change deniers and creationists have deployed the word "theory" to cast doubt on climate change and evolution.

3. Model
However, theory isn't the only science phrase that causes trouble. Even Allain's preferred term to replace hypothesis, theory and law -- "model" -- has its troubles. The word not only refers to toy cars and runway walkers, but also means different things in different scientific fields. A climate model is very different from a mathematical model, for instance.

 4. Skeptic
When people don't accept human-caused climate change, the media often describes those individuals as "climate skeptics."

5. Nature vs. nurture
The phrase "nature versus nurture" also gives scientists a headache, because it radically simplifies a very complicated process, said Dan Kruger, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan.

6. Significant
Another word that sets scientists' teeth on edge is "significant."
"That's a huge weasel word. Does it mean statistically significant, or does it mean important?" said Michael O'Brien, the dean of the College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri.
In statistics, something is significant if a difference is unlikely to be due to random chance. But that may not translate into a meaningful difference, in, say, headache symptoms or IQ.

7. Natural
"Natural" is another bugaboo for scientists. The term has become synonymous with being virtuous, healthy or good. But not everything artificial is unhealthy, and not everything that's natural is good for you.

Science instruction should be designed to engage students in making and using models

http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/models/Usefulness.html

 

 "Scientific practice involves the construction, validation and application of scientific models, so science instruction should be designed to engage students in making and using models."

 

In addition:

• Models provide an environment for interactive student engagement. Evidence from science education research shows that significant learning gains are achieved when students participate in interactive engagement activities. Thus, it is important that the learning environment/activity created around a model provide an interactive engagement experience.

• Working with models can enhance systems thinking abilities
• Models and model development are useful for helping students learn quantitative skills such as graphing, graphical analysis, and visualization; statistics; computational skills, mathematics,
  
• Many models allow one to perform sensitivity studies to assess how changes in key system variables alter the system's dynamic behavior. Such sensitivity studies can help one identify leverage points of a system to either help one affect a desire change with a minimum effort or to help estimate the risks or benefits associated with proposed or accidental changes in a system.
• Earth System Models such as those at Earth-System Models of Intermediate Complexity (more info) allow us to perform experiments related to the Earth System without altering and potentially harming the actual Earth. Many experiments, like understanding the future effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase, are taking place in the actual Earth System today but the results of these will not be know for 50 to 100 years. An Earth System model can run several such simulations using different assumptions in a matter of hours to days. The same is true for most models.
• The knowledge gained while using models and the understanding of model development and implementation are transferable to other disciplines related to the Earth system.

 

In MSED 252, Earth Science, Students are using M & Ms to model the earth.



 

Interactive Periodic Table

P-table has a rich history stretching back to September 1997, a year before the founding of Google. It was introduced as a piece of HTML artwork and published to the web October 1, 1997. Simple dictionary element descriptions were added later in December. A version utilizing HTML 4 and CSS was introduced March 1999 and replaced the original version September 2004. Wikipedia integration and the addition of other languages came in August 2005. Dynamic layout switching was later added in September. The first low resolution-friendly layout (no names) came in October 2006. Interactivity was radically enhanced throughout summer 2007 and continues into the present day. The color scheme was tweaked to be friendly to non-deuteranomalous individuals with interactive assistance from Kasey and Heather. Enjoy historic versions. http://www.ptable.com/ Dayah, M. (1997, October 1). Dynamic Periodic Table. Retrieved August 27, 2013, from Ptable: http://www.ptable.com

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Marking the culmination of a three-year, multiphase process, on April 10th, 2013, a 26-state consortium released the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a detailed description of the key scientific ideas and practices that all students should learn by the time they graduate from high school.

Print copies of the Next Generation Science Standards are available for pre-order now or you can view the online version at nextgenscience.org

The standards are based largely on the 2011 National Research Council report A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas.

Plate Boundaries and Earthquakes

Is the Earth's crust like a Pizza?

This is a key to the Triangulation Exercise developed by Ortiz.

Simulations of Plate Tectonics

http://www.chathamcentralschools.com/hs/academic_dept/Science/Schaefer/graham%20cracker%20plate%20tectonics%20lab%20activity.pdf


 The theory of plate tectonics states that the crust of the Earth is composed of 7 major plates and numerous smaller plates. These plates move on the top of the hot plastic upper mantle known as the asthenosphere. This theory also says that most of these plates are in motion, creating a variety of interactions at the plate boundaries. At the plate boundaries, plates may converge (collide), diverge (separate), or slide past each other in a lateral motion. In addition, some plates may appear to be inactivity. The purpose of this lab is to demonstrate interactions of plate boundaries.

My students are doing two labs today.

From Snack Tectonics:  http://jclahr.com/science/earth_science/cr06/workshop/activities/snack/snack_tectonics.html