SCIE 210 Week 12 Discussion

SCIE 210 Week 12 Discussion | Science Assignment Help | Franklin University 

Week 12 Discussion - Analyze and Evaluate Arguments

Purpose

To assess your ability to analyze and evaluate arguments for competing hypothesis.

Overview

As we noted in the beginning of the course, because its main goal is to seek knowledge about the composition and order of everything in the physical universe, “[s]cience is a systematic attempt to get around the limitations of personal experience. It is a set of procedures designed to keep us from fooling ourselves. By performing controlled experiments [and relying on the careful use of reason], scientists seek to ensure that what they observe is not affected by these limitations, or at least is affected as little as possible" (p. 154). In this assignment, you are asked to assess different scientific phenomena and discuss what additional evidence might be needed to support a given hypothesis related to those phenomena.

Reference

Schick Jr., T., and L. Vaughn.  2008. How to think about weird things: Critical thinking for a new age. 5th ed.  New York: McGraw-Hill.

Action Items

1. Review the readings and videos for this week.
2. Identify a question about something that happens in nature (e.g., our world, universe, etc.) that has not yet been explained, or that you would like to understand better. As an example (please do not use this example in your discussion), a person might consider the use and benefit of vitamin supplements. One school of thought indicates that such supplements are increasingly important for maintaining a healthy diet, while the other school of thought indicates that by taking such supplements, you are doing little more than turning your urine yellow.
3. What reasoning do you think is behind the phenomenon you have identified? Write a hypothesis that represents your belief about why the phenomenon occurs. Write a second hypothesis that might also be used to explain the same phenomenon but with a different cause. For example, using vitamin supplements, one might consider:
1. If vitamins are beneficial, then individuals who regularly take vitamin supplements will live longer.
2. If vitamin supplements are not beneficial, then individuals who regularly take vitamin supplements will not show a difference in how long they live compared to those who regularly take vitamin supplements.

(Keep in mind here, the example hypotheses make the assumption that vitamin supplements correspond to a longer life. This may or may not be accurate and should be further evaluated and refined accordingly. For example, perhaps vitamin supplements do not help you to live longer, but reduce the overall number of illnesses/diseases one experiences during his/her lifetime.)

4. Within 48 hours of the due date, read your classmate's postings. Respond to one person who has not yet received a response. Identify strengths in the person's hypothesis.
5. Identify which hypothesis you would support and why. Or, if you support neither, write a new hypothesis.
6. Suggest what empirical evidence you might need in order to verify or refute the hypotheses.
7. After at least one classmate has responded to your original posting, respond by indicating the strengths you see in the empirical evidence they suggested. Indicate one thing you would do differently and why. If you would not change anything, explain why you would keep the experiment the same.