The Five Biggest Ideas in Science

Arthur W. Wiggins, Charles M. Wynn

Description

In a thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of The Five Biggest Ideas in Science, authors Charles Wynn and Arthur Wiggins provide a panoramic view of the questions scientists seek to answer about the natural world:
* Do basic building blocks of matter exist, and if so, what do they look like?
* BIG IDEA #1: Physics' Model of the Atom
* What relationships, if any, exist among different kinds of atoms?
* BIG IDEA #2: Chemistry's Periodic Law
* Where did the atoms of the universe come from,and what is their destiny?
* BIG IDEA #3: Astronomy's Big Bang Theory
* How is the matter of the universe arranged in planet Earth?
* BIG IDEA #4: Geology's Plate Tectonics Model
* How did life on planet Earth originate and develop?
* BIG IDEA #5: Biology's Theory of Evolution


Get set for a lively and informative discussion, as you also learn how to evaluate potential applications of these and other scientific ideas.
The Road to Discovery: The Method of Science.

BIG IDEA #1 Physics' Model of the Atom: Seeing the Unseeable.

BIG IDEA #2 Chemistry's Periodic Law: Sorting the Elements.

BIG IDEA #3 Astronomy's Big Bang Theory: Tracing the Elements' Roots.

BIG IDEA #4 Geology's Plate Tectonics Model: Down to Earth.

BIG IDEA #5 Biology's Theory of Evolution: Life Begins and Branches Out.

The Method of Science: Further Insights.

Benefit/Risk Analysis: Potential Applications of Scientific Knowledge.

Epilogue.

Idea Folders.

Additional Reading.

Index.

Sujets

• Juvenile Nonfiction
• Nature
• Science

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 02 mai 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470342176
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Five Biggest Ideas in Science
Charles M. Wynn and Arthur W. Wiggins
With Cartoon Commentary by Sidney Harris
This text is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 1997 by Charles M. Wynn and Arthur W. Wiggins
All cartoons copyright by Sidney Harris, except the cartoon on page 125
1984 The New Yorker , published by permission.
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc.
The cartoons on pages iv, 11, 25, 34, 41, 51, 57, 58, 61, 63, 66, 72, 74, 82, 85, 108, 116, 133, and 134 first appeared in American Scientist 1988, 1981, 1987, 1981, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1981, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1977, 1989, 1981, 1986, 1978, 1976, 1983, and 1976, respectively.
The cartoon on page 1 first appeared in Today s Chemist 1990.
The cartoons on pages 9, 49, 52, and 98 first appeared in Science 1980, 1982, 1980, and 1990, respectively.
The cartoon on page 15 first appeared in Clinical Chemistry News 1980.
The cartoon on page 62 first appeared in Physics Today 1991.
The cartoon on page 76 first appeared in the New York Times 1982.
The cartoon on page 121 first appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction 1991.
All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wynn, Charles M.
The five biggest ideas in science / Charles M. Wynn and Arthur W. Wiggins ; with cartoon commentary by Sidney Harris.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: Presents five basic scientific hypotheses: the atomic model, the periodic law, the big bang theory, plate tectonics, and evolution.
ISBN 0-471-13812-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Science-Miscellanea. [1. Science-Miscellanea.] I. Wiggins, Arthur W. II. Harris, Sidney, ill. III. Title.
Q163.W99 1997
500-dc20 96-27469
CIP
AC
Printed in the United States of America
10
Contents
Prologue

1 The Road to Discovery: The Method of Science
2 BIG IDEA #1 Physics Model of the Atom: Seeing the Unseeable
3 BIG IDEA #2 Chemistry s Periodic Law: Sorting the Elements
4 BIG IDEA #3 Astronomy s Big Bang Theory: Tracing the Elements Roots
5 BIG IDEA #4 Geology s Plate Tectonics Model: Down to Earth
6 BIG IDEA #5 Biology s Theory of Evolution: Life Begins and Branches Out
7 The Method of Science: Further Insights
8 Benefit/Risk Analysis: Potential Applications of Scientific Knowledge
Epilogue
Idea Folders
Additional Reading
Index
Prologue
Can just five fundamental ideas open up a way to comprehend, appreciate, and evaluate the world of science? Taken as a group, the five ideas in this book do exactly that. Chosen especially for their power to explain phenomena, they provide a comprehensive survey of science.
Each idea represents science s tentative answer to a question about natural and artificial phenomena. We say tentative because, as you will see, science is a never-ending search for answers to the universe s mysteries. This book takes away some of the mystery and invites you to discover the reasoning that is the essence of science itself.
Beginning with a search for the basic building blocks in the universe (essentially, atoms), we will explore the behavior of the different kinds of atoms that make up the universe. We ll go on to ponder the past, present, and future states of the universe, consider the nature of our home planet, and, finally, study life on Earth from a molecular perspective. Here, then, is our list of the five biggest ideas and the questions that they answer.
Question
Do basic building blocks of matter exist? If so, what do they look like?
Answer
BIG IDEA #1-Physics Model of the Atom
Question
What relationships, if any, exist among different kinds of atoms, the basic building blocks of the universe?
Answer
BIG IDEA #2-Chemistry s Periodic Law
Question
Where did the atoms of the universe come from, and what is their destiny?
Answer
BIG IDEA #3-Astronomy s Big Bang Theory
Question
How is the matter of the universe arranged in planet Earth?
Answer
BIG IDEA #4-Geology s Plate Tectonics Model
Question
How did life on Earth originate and develop?
Answer
BIG IDEA #5-Biology s Theory of Evolution
These and other scientific ideas are just ideas until someone makes decisions about whether and how to apply them and weighs the potential benefits of a proposed action against potential risks. We ll show you how to use benefit/risk analysis to evaluate potential applications of scientific ideas and to unlock their potential power to produce changes.

Finally, you ll discover a collection of Idea Folders on a wide variety of topics related to the five biggest ideas. Idea folders relevant to each chapter are listed at the end of the chapter.
Sidney Harris, America s foremost science cartoonist, has provided cartoon commentary to punctuate our prose and illuminate its meanings. His humor, like all humor, arises from the unexpected and the incongruous. It surprises us into a new point of view. Appreciation of Sidney s humor requires sufficient background and insight in order to recognize something as unexpected or incongruous. We provide the background and insight-you get the joke.
Enjoy!
Willimantic, Connecticut C.M.W.
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan A.W.W.
New Haven, Connecticut S.H.
CHAPTER ONE
The Road to Discovery
The Method of Science

K-9 Hypothesis
Thinking like a scientist does not require incredibly precise, highly sophisticated, other-worldly logic. Consider this homely example:
A few months ago you bought a puppy named Domino. You have gotten to know him pretty well during these months. You have been observing his behavior under all weather conditions. Domino prefers to stay outside most of the time. But, shortly before a storm, you have noticed that he begins barking-he wants to come inside. By now you have come to react to that kind of barking by first closing the windows and then bringing him inside. He s got you trained! One day he starts barking. You presume a storm is coming and close the windows; but, when you go outside to untie him, you are surprised to find that the sky is clear and the wind is quite gentle. You note that a bigger dog is skulking away now that you have arrived on the scene. From now on, you will be aware that Domino s prestorm barking is an alarm system, generally predicting a storm and occasionally signaling the defense of his territory.
Your approach to making sense out of Domino s world is similar to that used by all scientists. At first you were involved in observation , somehow sensing (seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, or feeling) a pattern in events: Domino barks in a particular way at certain times.
Next, you formed a hypothesis , creating a general statement about the basic nature of the phenomenon observed: Whenever Domino barks that way, storms occur.
Then you made a prediction , applying your hypothesis to a subsequent situation: Domino is barking in his prestorm way, so it will soon rain.
Finally, you performed an experiment , or test of the prediction, by looking for an actual occurrence of the phenomenon predicted to determine whether the prediction was true or false. Because an experiment yielded results (no postbarking rain) that differed from the prediction, the hypothesis had to be revised, or modified to explain the experiment results. Then you recycled through the procedure, using the revised hypothesis (see Figure 1-1 ).
K-9 Theories and Laws
Once the hypothesis is modified-Domino barks when he is alarmed by something that frightens him-new predictions can be made and new experiments done to check out the predictions. Each time a prediction is supported by an experiment, the hypothesis gains credibility and dependability. After many successful tests of the hypothesis, it might be called a theory (in this case, another Domino Theory ). Theories frequently explain a law , which is a statement of some kind of regularity in nature. Theories might postulate the underlying cause(s) of a law s regularity, as when a law about the frequency of Domino s barking and the frequency of rain is explained by a theory that he barks because he is frightened.

F IGURE 1-1. The Method of Science
Of course, some day, that kind of barking might result from a splinter off Domino s dog house! A slight modification of the hypothesis can accommodate this new finding.
So what conclusions can be drawn from the K-9 inquiry?
It Seems as If . . .
You observe things all the time. You make special notice of certain of those observations because they seem to fit together in some way. That apparent pattern, explanation, or relationship is a hypothesis about the phenomenon under consideration. The hypothesis is tentative by its very nature: It seems as if whenever Domino barks that way, storms occur.
I ll Bet That . . .
While the hypothesis might seem plausible at the time, it must be put to the test by making a prediction about a future event. The prediction is a kind of bet that this future event will correspond with the hypothesis: I ll bet that the next time Domino barks like that, it will soon rain. If this bet is won, the payoff is added credibility to the hypothesis. There s even a payoff if the bet is lost: increased insight into the workings of the universe.
To make and test a prediction is to take a risk, namely that the hypothesis will be shown to be in error. However, if you do not make and test predictions, you risk believing in incorrect ideas. For science to grow, it must take risks; prediction is the risk that keeps science growing.
It is important to remember that the predictions that are borne out do not (cannot!) prove that a hypothesis is correct. They simply provide additional support for belief