Scientific Essay Sample

Environmental Science Essay

Environmental Fundamentals

Laura Jackson

Env/100

April 8, 2013

JOHN ENSWORTH

Environmental Fundamentals

Introduction

Environmental science is defined as the study of the environment and the interconnecting systems it contains, furthermore, the way people interact with their natural surroundings and use natural resources (wise geek, 2013). Scientist in this field is highly interdisciplinary and extremely diverse, for example, a scientist might study volcanoes or climate change. This essay will cover the following; the definition of environmental science, the relationship between science and technology and how it affects environmental problems; the concept of environmental sustainability and why it should be studied; how human...show more content...

Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability is the process of making sure current processes of interaction with the environment are pursued with the idea of keeping the environment as pristine as naturally possible based on ideal–seeking behavior (Wikipedia, 2010). What makes environmental sustainability so important is that it demands that society designs activities to meet human needs while indefinitely preserving the life support systems of the planet (Wikipedia, 2010). Human consumption can only use the nature's resources at a rate that can be replenished naturally.

Human Values affecting Society

The most devastating environmental change of all is the loss of biodiversity. The rate of species extinction has remained at one species per million per year, furthermore, the accelerating destruction of habitats throughout the world leads to projections of the loss of two–thirds of all species on earth by the end of this century, and millions of years to recover from the Cretaceous period (mindfully.org, 2013). As individuals, we obtain our

food, directly or indirectly from plants, for example, plant our primary use of medicines. Biodiversity also determines the properties of communities and ecosystems, which capture energy from the sun. The world is less resilient, more homogeneous, less interesting, and with fewer opportunities for our descendants and ourselves: where the process reaches

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Scientific Method Step Essay

Scientific Method

Matching Exercise Resource

In Part I, match each example from Column 2 with the correct step of the scientific method in Column 1. Explain the reasoning for your choice in Part II.

Part I

Column 1: Scientific Method Steps

__g_ Observe

__c_ Ask a question

__a_ Create a hypothesis

__b_ Conduct an experiment

__d_ Collect data

__f_ Interpret results

__e_ Report results

Column 2: Examples of Tasks 1)

a) A scientist, based on hisobservation of the pond, believes that if a pond is exposed to the waste of an industrial plant, then the growth of algae will be accelerated. 2)

b) In her laboratory, a scientist pours a vial of waste water, collected from the industrial plant, and adds it to a dish containing pond water. A...show more content...

Information that is gathered and analyzed by the collection of information investigated. Why, when, what, and how does the information work or does not work.

3) The "Examples of Tasks" I selected for theScientific Method Step: "Create a hypothesis" is accurate because: The creation of a hypothesis are the answers of the questions that are formulated through why, when, what, and how. This an educated guess based on the observation and questions asked during the observation and questions asked.

4) The "Examples of Tasks" I selected for the Scientific Method Step: "Conduct an experiment" is accurate because: Conducting experiment, is when the scientist have questions they want answers to, also wanting to know how things work. This will mean to finding out the facts or to come up with a new theory.

5) The "Examples of Tasks" I selected for the Scientific Method Step: "Collect data" is accurate because: As the observation of algae, the information must be recorded as how it is seen. The information that is collected during the process of the experiment, are not to be altered from what is observed. This is a recording of all of what has been viewed at the time of growth, color or any changes.

6) The "Examples of Tasks" I selected for the Scientific Method Step: "Interpret results" is accurate because:

Interpret results,

For some people science is the supreme form of all knowledge. Is this view reasonable or does it involve a misunderstanding of science or of knowledge?

For many persons science is considered the supreme form of all knowledge, as science is based on facts and theories and it reaches its results through an approved scientific method. Consequently, it seems to beobjective and thus more truthful and reliable. However, other persons argue that this is a misunderstanding of science. Hence, one should question what science and knowledge entail. Can there actually be some form of knowledge that overrules all other types of human knowledge? Is scientific knowledge actually always objective? Are there other types of knowledge of equal worth? This...show more content... Thus, perception, in this case could be considered an important factor that makes a piece of knowledge supreme. One could then deduce that frogs have these organs and that most multi–cellular animals also have these organs, after having looked and compared a large sample. This is where reasoning, as a way of knowing, comes into use to make generalisations. And one can be quite sure that this fact is true since it has been seen, and at any moment in time, if someone dissects a frog, he/she will see these organs. In this example, there is very little room for human emotions/ bias to affect the perception, since one cannot argue that what's inside the frog's body is something other than its organs.

On the other hand, there are other parts in the field of biology that are less supreme. Consider the example of a field study where a scientist is to investigate if leaves closer to the trunk of oak trees in Scania are larger than those being further away from the trunk. The biologist will make a plan on how to conduct the experiment, and since he cannot measure all leaves in all trees existing in Scania, the biologist will have to carry out the field study on a sample, which raises the question: what could be an appropriate sample? Most scientists agree that the best way to conduct a field study is being as random as possible. But how does one go about being random? Scientist may have different ways of reasoning on what would make an appropriate sample, but no way

Scientific Theory Essay

Scientific Theory

A scientific theory is a well–substantiated explanation of some aspects of the natural world, based on a body of knowledge that has been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Scientist creates scientific theories from hypothesis that have been corroborated through the scientific method, then gather evidence to test their accuracy. The strength of a scientifictheory is related to the diversity of phenomena it can explain, which is measured by its ability to make falsifiable predictions with respect to the phenomena. Scientific theories are the most reliable, rigorous, and comprehensive for of scientific knowledge.

The scientific method involves the proposal and testing of hypotheses, by deriving...show more content...

Theories are the main goal in science and no explanation can achieve a higher rank. (to the belief that "theories" become "laws" over time). In some cases, theories can unify. Two or more theories can be replaces by a single theory which explains the previous theories as approximations or special cases, comparable to the way a theorys is connecting explanation for many confirmed hypotheses: This is reffered to as Unification of Theories. Both scientific laws and scientific theories are produced from scientific methods through the formation and testing of hypotheses, and can predict the behavior of the natural world. Both are typically supported by observation and experimental science. However, scientific laws are descriptive accounts of how nature will behave under certain conditions. Scientific theories are broader in scope, and give overarching explanations of how nature works and why it exhibits certain characteristics. They are supported by evidence from many different sources, and may contain one or more laws.

Both scientific laws and scientific theories come from the scientific method through the formation and testing of hypotheses, and can predict the behavior of the natural world. Both are usually well supported by observations and/or experimental evidence. However laws are descriptive accounts of how nature will behave under certain conditions. Assumption is a Get more

Forensic Science, also known as Forensics, is the application of science to law. It uses highly developed technology to uncover scientific evidence in a variety of fields. Modern forensic science has a broad range of applications. It is used in civil cases such as forgeries, fraud or negligence. The most common use of forensic science is to investigate criminal cases involving a victim, such as assault, robbery, kidnapping , rape, or murder. Forensic science is also used in monitoring the compliance of various countries with such international agreements as the Nuclear Non–Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical WeaponsConvention and to learn whether a country is developing a secret nuclear weapons program. It can help...show more content...

Pathology is the branch of forensic science that determines the nature and course of diseases by analyzing body fluids and tissues. Pathology is divided into clinical and anatomic pathology. Clinical pathologists contribute to the diagnosis of diseases by measuring chemicals and cells in blood, sputum, bone marrow and urine. Anatomic pathologists perform autopsies and analyze tissues taken from patients during surgery or by biopsy.

The medical examiner investigates many different types of violent crime to determine whether a violent death was an accident, a suicide, or a homicide. In cases involving gunshot wounds, the medical examiner looks for gunpowder residues on the clothing of the victim and around wounds. The information is used to determine whether the gun was fired by the victim of by someone else. In the case of knife wounds, the medical examiner must distinguish between a cut (an injury that is longer than deep) and a stab wound (an injury that is deeper than long).He must also be able to identify a defense wound which is a cut caused when a victim grabs the knife in self–defense. Cuts are associated with suicide. The body of the victim usually has numerous parallel cuts which indicate hesitant wounds or repeated hesitant trials before the final cut is made. Homicides typically consist of one deep gash.

Medical examiners are also called upon to investigate cases of asphyxiation or death

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Forensic Science has contributed to our world a great deal. People often misunderstand Forensic Science and believe it is much more capable than it really is. As a matter of fact what you see on T.V. is around 80% false or over exaggerated in some way. To Start of, Criminal Investigation is the largest and most known form of Forensic Science. Some of the more known areas include; Fingerprinting, Ballistics, DNA Identification, Fiber Samples, Computer Animation, Documentation analysis, etc. To get this out of the way in the beginning, what you saw onlast night's law and order is far from the truth. Things they do in a matter of hours take months at a time, and most of the time aren't even plausible concepts....show more content...

Computer Animation is another valuable aspect in Forensics. Many People believe that they are getting "virtually framed", and that computer animations are inconclusive. This has been shown to be wrong and is said to be much more accurate then an actual man reenactment. Computers are able to precisely pinpoint every single aspect of the reenactment. Some argue that this may "Create reality" and not illustrate it, but that's up to the court to decide. An example of how this works was used when a snowplow struck an Iowa State basketball players car killing him. The plow driver was going 10 miles over the speed limit. This video was recreated and showed a fatal blow the side of the deceased's car. Although he was speeding this movie was recreated with the plow going the speed limit and he still would have been fatally killed. The Iowa student didn't look when pulling out into the intersection if you're wondering. Also, Forensic Scientists use computer animation to simulate the aging or appearance change in a criminal or deceased individual. Though this is a great technique, things cannot always be exactly 100% certain on the reconstruction. A lot of the deciding whether this if valid, is up too the jury souly. This can even help provide the cause of death in a badly degraded badly.

Documentation Examination is another very important aspect in Forensic Science.

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Scientific literacy

Introduction and audience

When talk about science, perhaps majority of us think it is less relative with real life. However, as society developed, science encompassed us everywhere. This situation forces everyone to acquire the ability to learn and understand science. Some may think that, scientific literacy is what a scientist should have and nothing about normal people, however it is just too narrow. Look around the surroundings of us, everything is conned with science. Also, we encounter science in our normal life as well. Therefore, the ability to acquire and understand science is necessary and important, which is called scientific literacy. Scientific literacy is the foundation of science and technology...show more content... Also, they might doubt the ingredient of their product (thinking creatively). What were they made of, would that influence their health? Finally, we made the decision, it was a deceptive advertising and we wouldn't purchase it(problem solved). This is the one typical example process of using scientific way to solve problems.

So far, we could tell scientific literacy is useful, but does it necessary for us? The next part is telling why it is necessary and the basic science knowledge to acquire it.

Science knowledge is necessary

As the rapid development of science and technology, everyone in society is required to acquire higher scientific literate skill. What if one doesn't acquire scientific literacy, not only he/she could not engage in science study or research, but would encounter difficulties in normal life. For example, when we want to look for a book in the library, it would be so simply if we check it online, copy the index of the book and then go find it directly. However, people who don't have the ability to acquire computer skill would have difficult. Therefore, scientific literacy is necessary in contemporary life.

There is no doubt that science knowledge is the significant part of scientific literacy. Therefore, learning science is the first step. What is science? Just taking a look at our surroundings, it not hard to find that science is everywhere. Simply example like how the lamp is lighted, which

Scientific Method

The Scientific Method

Utilizing The Scientific Method

SCI110, Introduction to Science

May 1, 2015

The Scientific method is a process that scientists use to solve a problem. It generally involves four distinct steps that constitute the "Scientific Method". This paper describes the steps of the scientific method, and its application in a real–world scenario we experienced.

Step 1: Formulating a Problem

Formulating a problem can range from simple to difficult solutions to a problem. In order to solve a problem, you must first know what the problem is. To begin with we can determine what the problem is not, just based on facts known by yourself, coworkers, friends or family. By asking a question, eliminating...show more content...

When the water level in the sump pit rises, this switch turns on the pump. This pumps the water out of the pit and into a pipe which ejects the drainage water out of the house and (hopefully) far away from the house."

With the sump pump installed, we waited for severe rainstorms to hit before observing the results. After one light storm, there was no flooding. But after a second, more severe storm, the floor continued to take on water, which led us to the Conclusion that either the flooding was not due to the rising water table, or the sump pump was ineffective at stopping the rising water table.

At that point we decided to observe the flow of water outside during the next big storm. When it finally hit, we went outside and observed a significant amount of water flowing straight down the wall just outside the walkway, from the top of the walkway under the deck. Once again, the walkway floor took on water. We revised ourHypothesis to state that the basement walkway was flooding due to water flowing directly down the exterior wall, underground, where it entered gaps in the wall to the walkway.

Our solution to test the Hypothesis was to install a gutter under the deck, under the flashing which separated the walkway roof to the walkway

exterior wall. This would catch rain water and funnel it away from the wall, therefore preventing water from flowing directly down the wall where it could enter the walkway

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The British Psychological Society states that 'Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour' (BPS). In this essay I will be discussing what is actually meant by this and whether psychology fits into both the traditional views of a science, as well as more contemporary perspectives. It is widely suggested that Psychology is a "coalition of specialities" meaning it is multi–disciplinary (Hewstone, Fincham and Foster 2005, page 4). I will therefore examine whether it could be considered wrong to think that all parts of the discipline should neatly fit into one view of a scientific approach. In order to be considered a science, Psychology must consequently adhere to using a scientific method. If this were, as usual,...show more content...

Studies such as the afore mentioned Milgram study showed that what may appear to be the most expected outcome may, in truth, be very different. I would also go on to argue that in actuality all sciences are some adaptation of common sense (Oppenheimer, 1956), leaving Psychology in this way, no different to any of the others. Ben Goldacre even argues that particular forms of science, such as neuroscience, regularly offer empirically incorrect research in reputable journals, claiming statistically significant results without the appropriate statistical tests (Guardian). Furthermore, there are three main aspects which were customarily associated with a science: metaphysical, theoretical and methodological assumptions. Under metaphysical it is believed that to gain scientific status requires the certainty that the subject matter i.e. human thought / behaviour, is similar to that of other accepted sciences. This could then be true for Psychology, as particularly since Darwin's suggestion of a continuity between behaviours of humans and other species, behaviour has become more scrutinised. However, this must be assumed in respect of determinism, suggesting predictions could be made. 'Heisenbergs uncertainty principle' suggests that when relating evidence of indeterminism within the universe to human behaviour, it proves ambiguous, and with parts of the discipline believing strongly in free will it seems difficult to establish a common ground (Valentine E.R. page 2).

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The Scientific Method is the standardized procedure that scientists are supposed to follow when conducting experiments, in order to try to construct a reliable, consistent, and non–arbitrary representation of our surroundings. To follow the Scientific Method is to stick very tightly to a order of experimentation. First, the scientist must observe the phenomenon of interest. Next, the scientist must propose a hypothesis, or idea in which the experiments will be based around. Then, through repeated experimentation, the hypothesis can either be proven false or become a theory . If the hypothesis is proven to be false, the scientist must reformulate his or her ideas and come up with another hypothesis, and the experimentation begins again. This...show more content...

Furthermore, flies were observed laying eggs where the maggots formed. Thus, he concluded that maggots are the result of flies, not spontaneous generation. He then called the principles behind his experiment "Metodo Scientifico" or The Scientific Method.

The first cases of what would be considered properly using the Scientific Method can be found earlier, though, back in the studies of Galileo, early in the 17th century. He first observed that heavy objects gain speed as they fall. He then proposed, or hypothesized, that the rate of falling of massive objects was proportional to the distance that the object has fallen. Following the Scientific Method, he tested his hypothesis and found it to be false, since objects falling unequal distances do not fall in the same amount of time, as his hypothesis led to. Since his hypothesis failed, he made a new one, which proposed that the rate at which an object falls is directly proportional to the time the object has spent falling. This was tested by rolling balls down an inclined plane and calculating the speed and time values from those observations. Later, these experiments led to the discovery of the gravitational constant g, and a better understanding of the Scientific Method.

The Method has been used many times since Galileo conducted his experiments, and it has been considered a valid way of conducting experiments since Get more content

My Passion For Science

My passion for science and plants began early in my childhood and has grown substantially to that which energizes me to chase after higher goals. I used to obsessively search for information on wild plants that were edible and had medicinal properties. Now, I find that I am continually amazed by research on the photosynthetic pathway along with biochemistry within plants in general. I was, and still am, enthralled by the idea that so much knowledge and novelty is within the organisms that I had appreciated since I was young. I believe that this passion was driven further by being able to compare, for myself, a life spent in remedial labor and one with scientific exploration. Needing to work in my family's business for years out of necessity placed me in a position where I saw how each action could either draw me from or towards a better lifestyle. These experiences have personally shown me the value in a program like the Leadership Alliance, whose purpose offers a means to be a part of a diverse cohort striving toward leadership in the world. Having the opportunity to be included in a community with such a goal and momentum would be phenomenal. It would allow me to continue pursuing graduate and post–graduate level education while also refining me into a monumental force in the field of scientific research. I desire to pursue my passion of photosynthesis, plants, and biochemistry to serve the world with a team of researchers. An academic appreciation and respect of science

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