Notes Chapter 1

Physics is the study of the most basic of concepts in nature. It is a study of the rules of nature. Without rules, science is pointless, for there can be no patterns and, thus, no future references. Physics seeks to give you an understanding of and a way to predict (possibly) the outcome of activities occurring all around you. If nothing else, it will encourage you to ask questions about the world around you. This course in particular will be a hands-on class. Every six weeks there will be a project to make that will adhere to guidelines. In the handout you were given on the first day of class are the six projects for this year along with the due dates for them. This will help you to preplan ideas for each project. Perhaps you can even begin some early. You will work in pairs on each project except the bridge. There will also be on-the-spot constructions that you will prepare during a class period without notice ahead of time, so always bring your most creative mind to class.

Physics is the branch of knowledge that studies the physical world. It studies everything from atoms to galaxies. Physicists strive to explain how behaviors occur. They study the natures of matter and energy and how they are related. It is the most fundamental and all-inclusive of the sciences. It is at the root of every field of science, and underlies all phenomena. It is the present-day equivalent of what used to be called natural philosophy.

Sometimes the works of physicists are only of interest to other physicists or scientists. Science which is studied for its own sake is called pure science. It seeks only to answer theoretical questions. It has to do with discovering the true facts and relationships between observable phenomena in nature, and with establishing theories that serve to organize these facts and relationships.

Other times the work of scientists leads to devices, such as lasers, calculators, or computers. This is called technology because it was devised with a purpose in mind. This is a method of practical problem solving, which can create more problems as time goes on. Technology has to do with tools, techniques, and procedures for implementing the finding of science.

Physicists and all scientists generally use a method to approach any problem. We will use the term strategy to indicate an organized approach to a problem that will break down the task. Some strategies are listed:

Starting in the fourth and fifth centuries B. C., Greek philosophers tried to determine what the world was made of. Aristotle, who lived around 340 B. C., was a student of Plato and tutored Alexander the Great, conqueror of much of the known world. He and his followers made some observations of everyday occurrences and then tried to draw all possible conclusions about why specific events happened. Unfortunately they did not investigate what happened or how it happened or even if it would happen again if circumstances were different.

Aristotle believed that all matter was made up of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Each element had a natural place. The highest place belonged to fire, then air, then water, and then earth. Motion only occurred because an element wanted to reach its own natural place. Motion could occur in two types: violent and natural.

These ideas and others like them held for centuries until the sixteenth century, when Galileo Galilei claimed publicly that knowledge must be based on observations and experiments rather than ancient books. He questioned the belief that Earth is the center of the universe. He doubted Aristotle’s view that objects of large mass fall faster than objects of small mass. Galileo soon developed a systemic method of solving problems.

2. Hypothesize an answer. A hypothesis is an educated guess about why a phenomenon occurred. There are two types of hypotheses: scientific and non-scientific. Scientific hypotheses can be tested and proven right or wrong. Non-scientific hypotheses have no such tests.

4. Research the literature to find laws that apply to the behavior being observed. Scientific facts may be found in this research. These are close agreements by competent observers of a series of observations of the same phenomena. These may be useful when devising a mathematical description, or law, of the behavior. A law is a principle which has been tested over and over again and has not been contradicted.

6. Generalize the conclusion so that a theory may be stated. A scientific theory is a synthesis of a large body of information that encompasses well-tested and verified hypotheses about certain aspects of the natural world.

Although the scientific method is an organized approach to a problem, it has not been the key to most discoveries in science. Trial and error, experimentation without guessing, accidental discovery, and other methods account for much of the progress in science. Knowledge, skill luck, imagination, and great patience also play large parts in discovery.

Progress in science has to do with attitude. This attitude is one of inquiry, experimentation, and humility before the facts. If a scientist holds an idea to be true, and finds any counter-evidence whatsoever, the idea is either modified or abandoned.

Scientists must accept facts openly even when the facts do not agree with their beliefs. They must strive to separate what they see from what they want to see. They must accept ideas from sources that are testable. Speculations that are not testable must be disregarded.

Progress in science excludes the human factor. Scientists, who seek to comprehend the universe and know the truth with the highest degree of accuracy and certainty, cannot pay heed to their own or other people’s likes or dislikes, or to popular ideas about the fitness of things. We can always ignore or refuse to believe science.

Progress in technology is not easy to refuse. Here progress must be measured in human terms. Technology can have no legitimate purpose but to serve people if it is to lead to a better world. It is a way of solving practical problems.