conceptual physics chapter 1
Conceptual Physics
11th Edition
Chapter 1:
ABOUT SCIENCE
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
This lecture will help you understand: •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What Science Is
Scientific Measurements
Mathematics—The Language of Science
Scientific Methods
The Scientific Attitude
Science, Art, and Religion
Science and Technology
Physics—The Basic Science
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
What Science Is
Science
• is a body of knowledge.
• is an ongoing human activity.
• has beginnings that precede recorded history.
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Measurements
Measurements are a hallmark of good science.
“I often say that when you can measure something and express it in numbers, you know something about it. When you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind. It may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely in your thoughts advanced to the stage of science, whatever it may be.”
—Lord Kelvin
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Measurements
Measurements
• relate to how much you know about something.
• of pinhole images of the Sun nicely lead to a calculation of the Sun’s diameter.
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Measurements
These round images of the Sun are crescent shaped during a partial solar eclipse.
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Some Early Scientific
Measurements
• Eratosthenes—Diameter of Earth
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Some Early Scientific
Measurements
• Aristarchus—Distance and Size of the Moon
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Mathematics—The Language of Science
Integration of science and mathematics
• Occurred some four centuries ago.
• Ideas of science are unambiguous when expressed in mathematical terms.
• Equations of science provide expressions of relationships between concepts
• Equations are “guides to thinking.”
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
11th Edition
Chapter 1:
ABOUT SCIENCE
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
This lecture will help you understand: •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What Science Is
Scientific Measurements
Mathematics—The Language of Science
Scientific Methods
The Scientific Attitude
Science, Art, and Religion
Science and Technology
Physics—The Basic Science
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
What Science Is
Science
• is a body of knowledge.
• is an ongoing human activity.
• has beginnings that precede recorded history.
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Measurements
Measurements are a hallmark of good science.
“I often say that when you can measure something and express it in numbers, you know something about it. When you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind. It may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely in your thoughts advanced to the stage of science, whatever it may be.”
—Lord Kelvin
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Measurements
Measurements
• relate to how much you know about something.
• of pinhole images of the Sun nicely lead to a calculation of the Sun’s diameter.
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Scientific Measurements
These round images of the Sun are crescent shaped during a partial solar eclipse.
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Some Early Scientific
Measurements
• Eratosthenes—Diameter of Earth
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Some Early Scientific
Measurements
• Aristarchus—Distance and Size of the Moon
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
Mathematics—The Language of Science
Integration of science and mathematics
• Occurred some four centuries ago.
• Ideas of science are unambiguous when expressed in mathematical terms.
• Equations of science provide expressions of relationships between concepts
• Equations are “guides to thinking.”
© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.