J-Thug

=​​​ J-Thug's Page= include component="comments" page="space.template.StudentPage" limit="5"

 ||  || Reflections: Many believe the scientific method to be a step-by-step process, beginning with a question and ending with a conclusion. In all of my education, I too have been taught this until reading the article titled “Science Through the Day.” The author of this article notes that science is always progressing, and even the greatest of theories are never set in stone. Even the strongest of scientific theories can be proven false with new evidence; thus, scientists can draw conclusions but never truly complete the scientific method. The author views the scientific method as a never-ending cycle of hypotheses, observations and tests. The author also believes the scientific method has a limited accessibility in terms of the types of questions it can be applied to. While the scientific method can allow scientists to discover theories about the physical world, it does not answer the world’s philosophical questions. Instead, philosophies of human life and spirituality are found in religions, literature, and art. Through this explanation, I can now see how a religious person can still believe in the works of science. The author’s clear and organized presentation of the scientific method has swayed me to believe it true. Since science is always changing, the scientific method cannot consist of a beginning or ending but a continuous cycle. Also, the method’s only practical use can be on questions pertaining to the physical world and not the philosophical one. However, the author’s theory, like all science, can be disproved with new evidence and so the article is left incomplete: a work in progress. ||  ||
 * == J-Thug == ||
 * ** Hi! Last year I had a blog in Mr. Keane's class but otherwise I don't typically use online stuff like wikispace. I have internet access at home, so I think this will be helpful for physics homework and getting in touch with classmates or Dr. Pasquini  **
 * ==**Response to the Scientific Method **== ||

In my opinion, the first author has a more intelligent outlook on the scientific method. Science is always changing, and what results is a cycle of new evidence being used to draw new conclusions. To think scientists have no method to their work is relatively an absurd idea to me, so I cannot agree with the second author. ||  ||
 * ==Scientific Method Compare and Contrast == ||
 * The authors of the two readings have very contrasting opinions of the scientific method. While the first author believes that scientists use a continuous method of preconceptions, hypotheses and tests, the second author believes the scientific method is of no use to scientists whatsoever. Instead, the second author believes the scientific method is an outsiders explaination of how scientists do their work. The second author also opposes to the idea of preconceptions, suggesting that no true scientist allows him or herself to approach a problem with pre-determined biases.

Scientific Method Reflection || 
 * Concept Map:




 * < Systems Reflection ||
 * < The way I would define a system is some sort of interaction between at least two objects or elements. This definition is similar to the way many physicists would define a system; however, they further it by saying that the interaction results in the formation of a complex whole. In other words the two or more objects or elements interact, and their interactions with each other unite them into a single whole or a system. An open system means that energy can enter or leave the system, coming and going without truly disrupting the system, only contributing to it. Contrastingly, a closed system is closed, so energy cannot enter or exit the system. In order to study the conservation of energy, a closed system must be used because the same energy that present in the beginning of an experiment must still be present at the experiment's conclusion. If an open system is used, energy could be lost and then later be replaced by new energy. Since the conservation of energy says that energy is not created or destroyed, a system in which the energy stays enclosed is necessary. ||


 * < Energy Reflection: Chapter 8 ||
 * < The law of conservation of energy states that energy can never be created or destroyed, it can only change the form of energy it appears to be. Some of the different types of energy are discussed in the chapter 8 reading, including, potential energy, kinetic energy and work. Potential energy is energy that is being stored, and it can be used later. This can be seen by stretching out a rubber band; as the band is streched out the amount of potential energy increases and waits to be converted into kinetic energy when the band is snapped or shot forward. Kinetic energy, as described by the shooting rubber band example, is related to the movement or motion of an object. Kinetic energy and potential energy are often converted from one form to the other since both are found in objects, but depend on whether energy is being used for movement or is being stored for later movement. The third concept of energy described in chapter 8 is work. Work is not necessarily a form of energy, but rather is the amount of force applied to an object over a specific distance. The concept of work focuses on the force that is applied to an object, and how that applied force causes the object to experience movement. Work, kinetic energy, and potential energy are all measured in joules, and can be studied together in order to proove the law of conservation of energy. ||


 * <span style="color: #462262; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Temperature and Heat Reflection: Chapter 2 ||
 * <span style="color: #842dc8; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">All matter is made up of atoms and molecules that are constantly moving. This motion is kinetic energy, and the greater it increases, the warmer an object gets. In other words the faster the molecules within an object are moving, the warmer that object's temperature. Temperature (measured on scales including celsius, fahrenheit and kelvin) measures how hot or cold an object is compared to usual. An ideal gas has a temperature that is related to the gas's average kinetic molecular transitional motion. Meanwhile, liquid and solids, which contain more potential energy, have a temperature that is much more complicated to calculate. Finally, heat is the energy that is transferred between objects, always from a body of higher temperature to one with lower temperature. The thermal contact, or transfer of heat, that happens between to objects depends on the two objects temperature, and thus also depends on the objects' levels of kinetic energy. ||

<span style="color: #5b89e1; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 190%;">Labs:

<span style="color: #3f5888; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Clock Lab: Independent reflection:** One lab report will be turned in for each group. In addition, each student must complete //independently// a reflection addressing the following questions:

<span style="color: #6f9aeb; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The process of desiging and testing a clock is similar to the scientific method discussed in class, beginning with the preconceptions. Before making the clock, Stacey and I had our ideas of what variables would impact the number of swings per second. We thought the mass of the object at the bottom of the pendulum would have a great impact, as would the length of the string. Then we experimented on this hypothesis by testing clocks with different masses and length strings. We recorded our data, as the scientific method requires, and we made observations. For instance, we noticed that the mass actually had very little effect. Finally we found a clock that worked, and made our conclusions about our original hypothesis. This was different from our original preconceptions.
 * <span style="color: #3f5888; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How was the process of designing and testing a clock similar to the scientific method as discussed in class?

<span style="color: #6f9aeb; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In this experiment I never sat down and made a prediction of what combination of mass and string length would make the pendulum swing at one swing per second. Also, Stacey and I made conclusions about our data, but certainly did not have enough data to support a true scientific theory. So, these aspects of the scientific method were not included in this lab.
 * <span style="color: #3f5888; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How did it differ?

<span style="color: #6f9aeb; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Read answers above: preconceptions,hypothesis, experiment and conclusion were present, while prediction and theory were not present.
 * <span style="color: #3f5888; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">What "steps" in the scientific process were present and which were missing?

<span style="color: #6f9aeb; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Yes, normally in the scientific process the scientist develops their own experiment and ideas, while in this lab our "employer" gave us the specifications and we just had to experiment to find something that fit their requirements.
 * <span style="color: #3f5888; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Was there a part of the activity that is not a part of the scientfic process?

__Links__ Stacey and Jen Clock Lab
[|Hartford School District] (Check here for important announcements) Stacey, Jen and Sara's Roller Coaster Report