Chapter 1: Physics - The Basic Science: This Lecture Will Help You Understand

Chapter 1 : Physics – The Basic Science
This lecture will help you understand:
• What Science Is
• Scientific Measurements
• Mathematics—The Language of Science
• Scientific Methods
• The Scientific Attitude
• Science, Art, and Religion
• Science and Technology
• Physics—The Basic Science
What Science Is
Science
• is a body of knowledge.
• is an ongoing human activity.
• has beginnings that precede recorded history.
The Scientific Method

• Recognize the problem
• Make an educated guess– a hypothesis
• Predict the consequences of the hypothesis
• Perform experiments to test predictions.
• Formulate –hypothesis, prediction, experimental outcome
Scientific Measurements
Measurements are a hallmark of good science.
“I often say that when you can measure something and
express it in numbers, you know something about it.
When you cannot measure it, when you cannot
express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager
and unsatisfactory kind. It may be the beginning of
knowledge, but you have scarcely in your thoughts
advanced to the stage of science, whatever it may be.”
—Lord Kelvin
Measurements
• relate to how much you know
about something.
Example: of pinhole images of the Sun
nicely lead to a calculation
of the Sun’s diameter.
These round images of the Sun are crescent shaped during a

partial solar eclipse.
Some Early Scientific Measurements
• Eratosthenes—Diameter of Earth
Some Early Scientific Measurements
• Aristarchus—Distance and Size of the Moon
1 moon tapering + 2.5 times wider, therefore, Earth’s diameter must

Be 3.5 moon diameters.
Determining Astronomical Distances
“The Sun”
Figure 1.4
Distance to the Moon

Figure 1.5
Aristarchus and the distance to the sun

• Measuring distance to planets (venus)
• With the invention of radar, scientists were
able to measure the distance to Venus very
precisely. By timing how long it took the radar
beam to travel at the speed of light to Venus
and back, the total distance to the object can
be determined from the equation:
• Distance = (Speed of Light) X (Total Time)/2
Mathematics—The Language of Science
Integration of science and mathematics

• Occurred some four centuries ago.
• Ideas of science are unambiguous when
expressed in mathematical terms.
• Equations of science provide expressions of
relationships between concepts
• Equations are “guides to thinking.”
Scientific Methods
• There is no one scientific method.
• In general, scientific methods refer to principles and
procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge
involving the recognition and formulation of a problem,
the collection of data through observation and
experiment, and the formulation and testing of
hypotheses.
Newton and Einstein
Scientific Methods
—Common Steps
1. Recognize a question, a puzzle, or an unexplained
fact.
2. Make a hypothesis (educated guess) to resolve
the puzzle.
3. Predict consequences of the hypothesis.
4. Perform experiments or make calculations to test
the predictions.
5. Formulate the simplest general rule that organizes
the three main steps.
Understanding the Universe
• Size is relative. What is big and what is small?
• Understanding size and distance.
• Diameter of the earth is 12,742 km.
• Diameter of the sun is 1,391,980 km.
• Average distance to the sun is 150,000,000 km.
• volume of the Sun is 1,299,400 times bigger
than the volume of the Earth; about 1,300,000
Earths could fit inside the Sun.
The Scientific Attitude
The scientific attitude is one of
• inquiry.
• experimentation.
• willingness to admit error.
Scientists
• are experts at changing their minds.
• must accept experimental findings
– test for erroneous beliefs
– understand objections and positions of
antagonists.
Which of these is a scientific hypothesis?
A. The Moon is made of green cheese.

B. Atomic nuclei are the smallest particles in nature.
C. A magnet will pick up a copper penny.
D. Cosmic rays cannot penetrate the thickness of your
Conceptual Physics textbook.
Which of these is a scientific hypothesis?
A. The Moon is made of green cheese.

B. Atomic nuclei are the smallest particles in nature.
C. A magnet will pick up a copper penny.
D. Cosmic rays cannot penetrate the thickness of your
Conceptual Physics textbook.
Explanation:
All are scientific hypotheses!
All have tests for proving wrongness, so they pass the test of being
a scientific hypothesis.
Which of these is not a scientific hypothesis?
A. Protons carry an electric charge.

B. Undetectable particles are some of nature’s secrets.
C. Charged particles bend when in a magnetic field.
D. All of the above are scientific hypotheses.
Which of these is not a scientific hypothesis?
A. Protons carry an electric charge.

B. Undetectable particles are some of nature’s secrets.
C. Charged particles bend when in a magnetic field.
D. All of the above are scientific hypotheses.
Explanation:
Choices A and C can be disproved by experiments.
Choice B has no test for wrongness, so it is not a scientific
hypothesis.
Law or principle
• A hypothesis that has been tested repeatedly and
has not been contradicted
Theory
• A synthesis of a large body of information that
encompasses well-tested and verified hypotheses
about certain aspects of the natural world
Which of these often changes over time with further
study?
A. Facts.
B. Theories.
C. Both of the above.
D. Neither of the above.
Which of these often changes over time with further study?
A. Facts.
B. Theories.
C. Both of the above.
D. Neither of the above.
Explanation:
Both can change. As we learn new information, we refine our
ideas; likewise in science.
A person who says, “that’s only a theory” likely
doesn’t know that a scientific theory is a
A. guess.
B. number of facts.
C. hypothesis of sorts.
D. vast synthesis of well-tested hypotheses and facts.
A person who says, “that’s only a theory” likely
doesn’t know that a scientific theory is a
A. guess.
B. number of facts.
C. hypothesis of sorts.
D. vast synthesis of well-tested hypotheses and facts.
Explanation:
The word “theory” in everyday speech is different
than its use in science.
In science, only a vast, experimentally verifiable
body of knowledge is a theory.
Science, Art, and Religion
Comparison of science, art, and religion by
domain:
– Science is of the natural order and involves the
discovery and recording of natural phenomena.
– Art is the interpretation and expression of human
experience.
– Religion involves faith and worship of a supreme
being.
Science, Art, and Religion
• Similarities between art and in science
– Knowledge of what is possible in human
experience and in nature.
– Knowledge of both affects our views and decisions
about the world.
• Similarities between religion and in science

– Both deal with unanswered questions.
Between a pilot and a priest, who do you think should

fly a commercial jet airplane? Who should perform
a marriage? (Although the questions are no-brainers,
they have a point.)
A. The pilot should fly and the priest should perform a
marriage.
B. The priest should fly and the pilot should perform a
marriage.
C. The pilot should do both.
D. The priest should do both.
Between a pilot and a priest, who do you think should
fly a commercial jet airplane? Who should perform
a marriage?
A. The pilot should fly and the priest should perform a

marriage.
B. The priest should fly and the pilot should perform a
marriage.
C. The pilot should do both. Explanation:
The pilot and priest have
D. The priest should do both.
different skills for different
tasks, and each can do their
thing well.
Science and Technology
• Science is concerned with gathering and
organizing knowledge.
• Technology is the use of scientific knowledge

for practical purposes and to provide tools for
further exploration.
Physics—The Basic Science
• Physical sciences include geology, astronomy,
chemistry, and physics.
• Life sciences include biology, zoology, and botany.
• Physics underlies all the sciences.

Although physics may be the most difficult science
course in certain schools, when compared with the
fields of chemistry, biology, geology, and
astronomy, it is
A. the simplest.
B. still the hardest!
C. the central science, between chemistry and biology.
D. simple enough, but only for especially intelligent people.
Although physics may be the most difficult science
course in certain schools, when compared with the
fields of chemistry, biology, geology, and
astronomy, it is
A. the simplest.
B. still the hardest!
C. the central science, between chemistry and biology.
D. simple enough, but only for especially intelligent people.
Explanation:
Your physics text has fewer terms than biology or
chemistry texts. Physics is a much more basic science
than other fields.
Speed of Light and Size of
the Universe
• Speed of light is the ultimate speed. Nothing can go
8
faster. It is 3 10
. m/s
• Diameter of the21visible universe is 10000000 light
9  10 km
years =
• There is 100 to 200 billion galaxies in the visible
universe and billions of stars in the universe.
• Andromeda, M31is the closest galaxy to us and it is 2.5
million light-years away.
• Closest star in our milky way is called Proxima Centauri
and 4.2 light years away.

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Chapter 1 : Physics – The Basic Science

This lecture will help you understand:

The Scientific Method

These round images of the Sun are crescent shaped during a

1 moon tapering + 2.5 times wider, therefore, Earth’s diameter must

Distance to the Moon

Aristarchus and the distance to the sun

Integration of science and mathematics

Which of these is a scientific hypothesis?

A. The Moon is made of green cheese.

A. The Moon is made of green cheese.

Which of these is not a scientific hypothesis?

A. Protons carry an electric charge.

A. Protons carry an electric charge.

• Similarities between religion and in science

Between a pilot and a priest, who do you think should

A. The pilot should fly and the priest should perform a

• Technology is the use of scientific knowledge

• Life sciences include biology, zoology, and botany.

• Physics underlies all the sciences.

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