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Image to right: Doing experiments is an important part of the scientific method. This girl takes part in her school science fair. Credit: World Book photo by Alan Landau
The Importance of Science
Science is important in our lives today. Most modern technology is based on science. Technology includes all the tools, materials, machines, and sources of power that make our lives easier.
Modern science and technology have changed the world in many ways. Airplanes, cars, computes, plastics, and television are only a few of the inventions that science and technology have brought us. Farmers can grow many more crops because scientists have created better plants and fertilizers. New drugs and medicines help doctors treat many serious diseases.
Science and technology have also created some serious problems, however. Factories and cars cause air and water pollution. Nuclear weapons can kill millions of people.
Branches of Science
Science can be divided into four major branches, or groups. These branches are mathematics, the physical sciences, the life sciences, and the social sciences.
Mathematics is a tool needed for all scientific study. Scientists use mathematics to describe their work and their findings. They also use mathematics to figure out what might happen in the future.
The physical sciences are the study of nonliving things that make up the universe. Scientists also study the forces that make these materials behave in certain ways.
The life sciences are the study of living things. The life sciences are also called biology. Some biologists study the parts of living things and how they work together. Others study how living things pass their own appearance and behavior on to their young. Some biologists study certain types of living things, such as birds or fish. Other biologists study the living things in a certain environment. For example, a marine biologist studies plants and animals that live in the sea.
The social sciences deal with people. They look at human relationships and how people treat one another. Social scientists study many areas of human life. They learn about our physical appearance and functions, how we produce goods and use money, how we make and follow laws, and how our thoughts and feelings affect our behavior.
How Scientists Work
Scientists use certain steps in their work. These steps are often called the scientific method. One of the oldest steps in the scientific method is looking carefully at nature. For example, the ancient Egyptians and other early people watched the movements of the stars and planets. What they saw helped them figure out when the seasons would change.
Doing experiments is another important step in the scientific method. Scientists do experiments to test their ideas and learn about the laws of nature. During the late 1500s, the Italian scientist Galileo did experiments to study how things speed up as they fall. In his experiments, Galileo rolled balls of different weights down slopes to find out how long they took to reach the bottom. His experiments showed that all falling objects speed up at the same rate.
Another step in the scientific method is forming a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an opinion about how a scientific experiment will turn out. Scientists form a hypothesis using information they already have. Then they do an experiment to test the hypothesis.
History
From earliest times, people have wanted to know more about the world around them. Thousands of years ago, people learned to count, and they made up stories to explain the rising and setting of the sun. They studied the behavior of animals they hunted. They learned that some plants could be used as medicine, and they collected other simple knowledge about nature. Learning about these things was the beginning of science. Mathematics and medicine were the first sciences. They were followed by the physical sciences, life sciences, and social sciences.
Over the centuries, scientists have learned a great deal about our world. The science of today and tomorrow will tell us more about the universe.
People often disagree about how scientific knowledge should be used, however. For example, some people ask whether it is right to use lasers to destroy things. In the future, scientists and nonscientists will need to work together to make sure that scientific knowledge is used in the best possible ways.
How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: "Science." The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2005.
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