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to recognize or establish as being a particular person or thing; verify the identity none of: to identify handwriting; to identify the bearer of a check. Synonyms: determine, know, place, distinguish. to serve as a means of identification none for: His gruff voice quickly identified him.
Science is a way of learning about what is in the natural world, how the natural world works, and how the natural world got to be the way it is. It is not simply a collection of facts; rather it is a path to understanding. Science focuses exclusively on the natural world and does not deal with supernatural explanations.
The meaning of IDENTIFY is to perceive or state the identity of (someone or something). How to use identify in a sentence. to perceive or state the identity of (someone or something); to ascertain the identity of (someone or something that is unfamiliar or unknown)…
Science is a way of discovering what’s in the universe and how those things work today, how they worked in the past, and how they are likely to work in the future. Scientists are motivated by the thrill of seeing or figuring out something that no one has before. Science is useful.
- Overview
- Introduction
- The scientific method
- Scientific method example: Failure to toast
- 1. Make an observation.
- 3. Propose a hypothesis.
- 4. Make predictions.
- 5. Test the predictions.
- 6. Iterate.
How the scientific method is used to test a hypothesis.
1.Make an observation.
2.Ask a question.
3.Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
4.Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
5.Test the prediction.
A biology investigation usually starts with an observation—that is, something that catches the biologist’s attention. For instance, a cancer biologist might notice that a certain kind of cancer can't be treated with chemotherapy and wonder why this is the case. A marine ecologist, seeing that the coral reefs of her field sites are bleaching—turning white—might set out to understand why.
How do biologists follow up on these observations? How can you follow up on your own observations of the natural world? In this article, we’ll walk through the scientific method, a logical problem-solving approach used by biologists and many other scientists.
At the core of biology and other sciences lies a problem-solving approach called the scientific method. The scientific method has five basic steps, plus one feedback step:
1.Make an observation.
2.Ask a question.
3.Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
4.Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
5.Test the prediction.
Let's build some intuition for the scientific method by applying its steps to a practical problem from everyday life.
Let's suppose that you get two slices of bread, put them into the toaster, and press the button. However, your bread does not toast.
A hypothesis is a potential answer to the question, one that can somehow be tested. For example, our hypothesis in this case could be that the toast didn't toast because the electrical outlet is broken.
This hypothesis is not necessarily the right explanation. Instead, it's a possible explanation that we can test to see if it is likely correct, or if we need to make a new hypothesis.
[Can any explanation count as a hypothesis?]
[Is a hypothesis a theory?]
A prediction is an outcome we'd expect to see if the hypothesis is correct. In this case, we might predict that if the electrical outlet is broken, then plugging the toaster into a different outlet should fix the problem.
To test the hypothesis, we need to make an observation or perform an experiment associated with the prediction. For instance, in this case, we would plug the toaster into a different outlet and see if it toasts.
•If the toaster does toast, then the hypothesis is supported—likely correct.
•If the toaster doesn't toast, then the hypothesis is not supported—likely wrong.
The results of a test may either support or contradict—oppose—a hypothesis. Results that support a hypothesis can't conclusively prove that it's correct, but they do mean it's likely to be correct. On the other hand, if results contradict a hypothesis, that hypothesis is probably not correct. Unless there was a flaw in the test—a possibility we should always consider—a contradictory result means that we can discard the hypothesis and look for a new one.
The last step of the scientific method is to reflect on our results and use them to guide our next steps.
And the result is:
Left panel: My bread toasts! Hypothesis is supported. Right panel: My bread still won't toast. Hypothesis is not supported.
•If the hypothesis was supported, we might do additional tests to confirm it, or revise it to be more specific. For instance, we might investigate why the outlet is broken.
•If the hypothesis was not supported, we would come up with a new hypothesis. For instance, the next hypothesis might be that there's a broken wire in the toaster.
In most cases, the scientific method is an iterative process. In other words, it's a cycle rather than a straight line. The result of one go-round becomes feedback that improves the next round of question asking.
Science is a rigorous, systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world.
Science aims to build knowledge about the natural world. This knowledge is open to question and revision as we come up with new ideas and discover new evidence. Because it has been tested, scientific knowledge is reliable. Misconception: Scientific ideas are absolute and unchanging.
