Chapter 1 — The Nature of Science

B. Scientific Inquiry – Grades 6-8

• Scientists differ greatly in what phenomena they study and how they go about their work. Although there is no fixed set of steps that all scientists follow, scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected evidence. 1B/1 (6-8)

• If more than one variable changes at the same time in an experiment, the outcome of the experiment may not be clearly attributable to any one of the variables. It may not always be possible to prevent outside variables from influencing the outcome of an investigation (or even to identify all of the variables), but collaboration among investigators can often lead to research designs that are able to deal with such situations. 1B/2 (6-8)

B. Scientific Inquiry – Grades 9-12

• Investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena, to check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and to compare different theories. 1B/1 (9-12)

• Sometimes scientists can control conditions in order to focus on the effect of a single variable. When that is not possible for practical or ethical reasons, they try to observe as wide a range of natural occurrences as possible to be able to discern patterns. 1B/3 (9-12)

Chapter 3 — The Nature of Technology

A. Technology and Science – Grades 6-8

• Technology is essential to science for such purposes as access to outer space and other remote locations , sample collection and treatment, measurement, data collection and storage, computation and communication of information. 3A/2 (6-8)

Chapter 4 — The Physical Setting

A. The Universe – Grades 9-12

• The stars differ from each other in size, temperature, and age, but they appear to be made up of the same elements that are found on the Earth and to behave according to the same physical principles. Unlike the Sun, most stars are in systems of two or more stars orbiting around one another.
• Increasingly sophisticated technology is used to learn about the universe. Visual, radio, and x-ray telescopes collect information from across the entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves; computers handle an avalanche of data and increasingly complicated computations to interpret them; space probes send back data and materials from the remote parts of the solar system; and accelerators give subatomic particles energies that simulate conditions in the stars and in the early history of the universe before stars formed. 4A/3(9-12)

E. Energy Transformation – Grades 9-12

• When energy of an isolated atom or molecule changes, it does so in a definite jump from one value to another, with no possible values in between. The change in energy occurs when radiation is absorbed or emitted, so the radiation also has distinct energy values. As a result, the light emitted or absorbed by separate atoms or molecules (as in a gas) can be used to identify what the substance is. 4E/5 (9-12)

F. Motion – Grades 6-8

• Light from the sun is made up of a mixture of many different colors of light, even though to the eye the light looks almost white. Other things that give off or reflect light have a different mix of colors. 4F/1 (6-8)

• Something can be "seen" when light waves emitted or reflected by it enter the eye—just as something can be "heard" when sound waves from it enter the ear. 4F/2 (6-8)

• Human eyes respond to only a narrow range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation—visible light. Differences of wavelength within that range are perceived as differences in color. 4F/5 (6-8)

F. Motion – Grades 9-12

• Accelerating electric charges produce electromagnetic waves around them. A great variety of radiations are electromagnetic waves: radio waves, microwaves, radiant heat, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, x rays, and gamma rays. These wavelengths vary from radio waves, the longest, to gamma rays, the shortest. In empty space, all electromagnetic waves move at the same speed—the "speed of light." 4F/3 (9-12)