Science Meets Real Life

Whether you think of yourself as an up and coming scientist or not, you use science every day. You will explore how you apply different aspects of science in your daily life in a two part project. In 1,500-words (minimum), discuss the following:

PART I: SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Each and every day, we are faced with having to make split-second decisions, and the need to solve random problems that we encounter. To reach those decisions and work those problems out you are subconsciously using the scientific method. Apply the five steps of the Scientific Method to two situations that could occur in your everyday life. Use the scientific method in the first scenario provided below to solve the problem at hand. Please come up with a second detailed scenario on your own and follow the same steps in the scientific method to find a resolution.

Scenario 1: You arrive home late at night. You walk up to the front door, unlock it, and reach in to turn on the light switch located just inside the front door. The light does not come on! Now what?

Scenario 2: Develop your own detailed problem/observation and apply the scientific method to solve.

PART II: WHY I CANNOT LIVE WITH/WITHOUT SCIENCE

As you have seen throughout this course, science is intricately interwoven with our lives: in the food we eat, in the clothes we wear, in the computers we use for this course, science has had a hand in them all. Answer the following questions:

1. Describe a typical day in your life from the time you wake up, until the time you go to bed. Describe how science impacts you and your routine throughout the day.

2. How has science improved your quality of life and why?

3. Are there any negative impacts that science has had? What are they and why?

4. Do you believe that you could survive without science? Why or why not?

5. How has this course impacted the way you view science?