BIOLOGY 157: LIFE SCIENCE: AN

ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH (Introduction, Science, etc.)

TEXT & SYLLABUS• Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry

and Applications. W. P. Cunningham and M. A. Cunningham (4th ed.). 2008.

• REQUIRED

• READ syllabus packet before next class

• Lecture Topics, Text Readings, Exams

• Class materials also on my web site www.lasalle.edu/~belzer

CLASS ATTENDANCE, ETC.

• Attendance EXPECTED (No ‘cuts’)• PowerPoint materials are NOT a substitute

for class• Class meets from 6:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.• Class STARTS promptly at 6:00 p.m.• QUIZ at BEGINNING and/or END of most

classes -- Quizzes count for 1/2 of participation grade

• Cell Phones (OFF / MUTE and AWAY!)

GRADE DETERMINATION• EXAMS (5) --------------- 72%

– 4 regular semester– final (45% comprehensive)

• PARTICIPATION ----- 8% (1/2 for quizzes)

• 2 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS and/or PROJECTS --- 20% (8% and 12%)

• Letter Grade Limits– plus/minus system– 90 (A-), 80 (B-), 70 (C-), 60 (D-)

EXAMINATIONS

• Exam Format(s)?????

• What to study?????

• When to study?????

• How to study?????

A Simple Exercise

• Break into groups of 3

• What are the environmental 3 R’s?

• Define: Population, Ecology, Fauna, Herbivore

• Give the complete scientific name for humans.

• How long has our species been on earth?

• How many centimeters in a meter?

Compare / ContrastEnvironmental Science & Ecology• ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE:

an interdisciplinary field that studiesthe interrelated issues of human populations, resources and pollution.

• ECOLOGY:the study of the interrelationships of organisms AND the reciprocal relationships between organisms and their abiotic environment.

A Question

• Why do we want to know (= to understand) about organisms and their environment and their interactions?

• Why do we want to know (= to understand) about anything?

An Answer

The best answer might be:

• “To know (= to understand) is to control.”

• IF we really understand something then we have at least a chance of using it to our benefit.

Can You Do Science?

• The answer is YES!

• ANYONE can!

• EVERYONE should!

What is 'SCIENCE'?

• Break out into your groups for a few minutes and come up with ONE answer from your group.

Science Defined (I)

• Definition #1 is an archaic one.

• Definition #2 is the one we will use because the definition, in itself, just about explains the so-called “Scientific Method”.

Science Defined (II)

• 1) Knowledge, especially knowledge gained through experience.

• 2) The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and explanation of NATURAL phenomena.

Scientific Method (I)

• The method or pattern by which good 'science' is accomplished is a multi-step process.

• Many sources will list a set number of steps.

• In reality it is more of a ‘flowing’ PROCESS and the exact number of steps one defines really doesn’t matter. However, generally it has the following pattern:

Scientific Method (II)

• 1) OBSERVATION(s) of 'something’

• 2) INFERENCE -- One formulates a generalization technically known as an HYPOTHESIS. Laypersons usually refer to an hypothesis as a THEORY, but theory really means something different.

• 3) EXPERIMENTATION -- test the hypothesis (generalization) by basing predictions on it

• 4) ANALYZE THE DATA

• 5) ACCEPT or REJECT the hypothesis

Scientific Method (III)

• IF the generalization holds up to reasonable experimentation it is then called a THEORY (usually referred to as a FACT by laypeople). Scientists then accept this as a working 'truth' (until evidence to the contrary is discovered).

• LAW - a theory that seems absolute

• IF a significant discrepancy arises between the experimental results and the hypothesis, then we must (?????) change the working hypothesis and go through the process again.

Science and Technology areNOT the same.

• SCIENCE:essentially is a search for knowledge about nature.

• TECHNOLOGY:is the creation of new products and processes which are supposed to improve our efficiency, chances for survival, comfort and quality of life.

Some Things About Science / Scientists (I)

• What are some things we associate with science / scientists?

• Come up with 3 or 4 things you would associate with science / scientists. Try to keep each ‘thing’ to one or two words.

Some Things About Science / Scientists (II)

Among the terms that come to mind might be:objective, careful, persistent, technology, mathematical, quantitative, prove, agree, accurate, precise, logical, picky, focused, nerdy, skeptical, reasoning.

Some Things About Science / Scientists (III)

• 1) What can science PROVE?

• 2) Should all scientists agree?

• 3) Are scientists always objective?

• 4) QUANTITATIVE vs. QUALITATIVE

• 5) PRECISION vs. ACCURACY

• 6) TYPES OF REASONING used by scientists: Deductive Inductive

Some Things About Science / Scientists (IV)

Quantitative • usually very meaningful / useful

• numerical data such as 14.7 kilograms, 75 kilometers, 370 C.

Qualitative: • usually not very meaningful / useful • large, small, long, short, hot, cold, etc.

Precision and Accuracy are NOT the same.

• Precision:degree of exactness with which a measurement is made (such as 19.427 kilometers from point A to point B)

• Accuracythe extent to which the measurement agrees with the accepted (= real?) value

TYPES OF REASONING

• DEDUCTIVE REASONING(= syllogistic reasoning)reason from a known principle to an unknown, or from a premise to a logical conclusion (general to specific or “top down”)

• INDUCTIVE REASONINGreason from particular facts or individual cases to a general conclusion (“bottom up”)

What, if any, difference is there between the way scientists work and the way people work in other areas?

• Nothing done by scientists is UNIQUE to science.

• IF there is a difference, it is one of degree.

“Types” of Science • MAINSTREAM (= CONSENSUS or SOUND)

SCIENCE:that which has sufficient data and is generally accepted by the scientific community

• FRONTIER SCIENCE:that which, at the present time, does not have sufficient evidence for it to make it generally acceptable (but it may get that in the future)

• PSEUDO-SCIENCE (= ?? QUACKERY or BALONEY ??):ideas which not only lack support but may even have evidence against them

DEMONSTRATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

U U U U U U U UU U U U U U U UU U U U U U U UU U U U U U U UU U U U U U U UU U U U U U U U

About Terminology

• A specialized and fixed terminology IS necessary:

• It allows us to communicate more easily and accurately!

• Natural vs. Not Natural ??• Theory vs. Hypothesis• Good vs. Bad ??

Gaia Hypothesis I

• Gaia (also spelled Gaea)from Greek mythology, the earth personified as a goddess (“Mother Earth”)

• The idea has surfaced numerous times.

• James Lovelock; Lynn Margulis

• ?????? The earth is a giant self-regulating creature. ??????

Gaia Hypothesis II

• The earth functions LIKE a giant organism.

• Living things have changed the earth AND its abiotic environment.

• Living things assist in maintaining the abiotic environment.

• Everything is tied together. Anything that happens in one place has repercussions in other places.

ADDITIONAL things from chapter 1 for YOU to investigate

• Law of Parsimony

• Empiricism

• Blind and Double Blind Studies

• Paradigm (can you think of some that were accepted in the past but not now)

• Types of THINKING (p. 11)

• Which idea (Biocentric Conservation or Utilitarian Conservation) most closely follows Genesis in the Bible?