Our Physics Class

Vote for your favorite UCM Presentation!

2008-03-07T13:42:00.011-05:00

Please review the UCM presentations posted below. Comment on at least one presentation. While commenting, please consider the following questions:

What made this presentation successful?

What did you like about it?

What could be improved in this presentation?

Was the style of this presentation consistent with the expectations stated in the “How to Make a PowerPoint” assignment? Why and/or why not?

...then...

Follow this link and vote for your favorite UCM presentation.

Project 2, UCM 1

2008-03-07T13:34:00.001-05:00

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Project 2, UCM 2

2008-03-07T13:33:00.002-05:00

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Project 2, UCM 3

2008-03-07T13:32:00.000-05:00

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Project 2, UCM 4

2008-03-07T13:28:00.001-05:00

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Project 2, UCM 5

2008-03-07T13:26:00.003-05:00

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Project 2, UCM 6

2008-03-07T13:22:00.004-05:00

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Momentum & Comic Books

2008-02-02T14:07:00.001-05:00

See, Physics matters! At least if you are a Spiderman...

Real World Physics

2008-02-02T14:01:00.000-05:00

Is this how you do your physics homework?

If you answered "yes", please don't...

How to make a good PowerPoint presentation

2008-02-02T13:45:00.000-05:00

Please comment on at least one of the "How to..." presentations posted below. Answer the following questions:

1. What did you like?
2. What didn't you like?
3. What did you learn from this presentation?

All entries must be submitted by Feb. 9 (exception will be made only for students who are currently in Spain.

Project 2: How to make a good Power Point

2008-01-16T21:08:00.001-05:00

Here is one more:

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Project 2

2008-01-16T20:51:00.000-05:00

For those of you considering Power Point as a format for your next project, here are my expectations:

Please create a clear, uncluttered by words, visually appealing presentation. I will take off points for poor style and structure.

To give you an idea of what I expect, below are two examples of good (in my opinion) Power Point presentations. Both address the topic of creating Power Point presentations. The first one ("Death by Power Point") was created by Alexei Kapterev from Moscow, Russia. Yes, we, former Soviets, get it about making a strong point with images...

The second one (Power Point Trends) is a good example of a Power Point presentation that presents information with very few words.

Project 2: Death by Power Point

2008-01-16T20:49:00.000-05:00

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Project 2: Power Point Design Trends

2008-01-16T20:48:00.000-05:00

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Free-Fall & Projectile Results

2008-01-15T15:27:00.000-05:00

The first place goes to...

Presentation 4 with 62% of the vote

2^nd and 3^rd place were shared by presentations 2 and 3 with 15.4% of the vote each.

It's that time again!

2007-12-18T17:27:00.000-05:00

Follow this link and vote for your favorite Free-fall & Projectiles presentation.

Free-fall & Projectiles 1

2007-12-18T17:21:00.002-05:00

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Free-fall & Projectiles 2

2007-12-18T17:21:00.001-05:00

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Free-fall & Projectiles 3

2007-12-18T17:20:00.000-05:00

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Free-fall & Projectiles 4

2007-12-18T17:19:00.000-05:00

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Inertia Results

2007-12-18T17:05:00.000-05:00

In the first place is Presentation 2 with 46.4 % of the vote.
In the second place is Presentation 5 with 30.8 % of the vote.
and
In the third place is Presentation 3 with 15.4 % of the vote.

Mass vs. Weight Survey Resutls

2007-12-13T14:50:00.000-05:00

The results are in!

In the first place is Presentation 5 with 36.8 % of the vote.

Second place was won by Presentation 3 with 28.9 % of the vote.

Presentation 2 came in 3rd with 21.1 % of the vote.

There is still time to vote for the Inertia & First Law of Motion presentations.

Inertia & First Law 1

2007-12-12T19:33:00.001-05:00

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Inertia & First Law 2

2007-12-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

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Inertia & First Law 3

2007-12-12T19:30:00.002-05:00

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Inertia & First Law 4

2007-12-12T19:30:00.001-05:00

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Inertia & First Law 5

2007-12-12T19:29:00.000-05:00

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Vectors vs. Scalars results

2007-12-11T11:19:00.000-05:00

And the winner is …[insert drum roll here] …

Presentation 5 (with 36% of the vote)

Second place was won by Presentation 2 (24 % of the vote) and Presentation 1 came in third (22.9%).

Congratulations all winners!

Voting for Mass vs. Weight presentations will be opened till mid-night on Wed. Dec. 12. Please rate Mass vs. Weight presentations here.

More on deflecting asteroids

2007-12-09T16:34:00.000-05:00

Copied from an article in the New York Times.

By LIA MILLER
Published: December 9, 2007

In 1908, an asteroid is thought to have entered the earth’s atmosphere and exploded over a Siberian forest, leveling some 800 square miles of trees in what is known as the Tunguska Event. If we knew today that another asteroid were on a path to intersect with our planet, what could we do?

Massimiliano Vasile, a lecturer in aerospace engineering at the University of Glasgow, recently concluded a two-year study comparing nine asteroid-deflection methods, rating them for efficiency, complexity and launch readiness.

The best method, called “mirror bees,” entails sending a group of small satellites equipped with mirrors 30 to 100 feet wide into space to “swarm” around an asteroid and trail it, Vasile explains. The mirrors would be tilted to reflect sunlight onto the asteroid, vaporizing one spot and releasing a stream of gases that would slowly move it off course. Vasile says this method is especially appealing because it could be scaled easily: 25 to 5,000 satellites could be used, depending on the size of the rock.

The losing ideas — satellites equipped with lasers; detonating a nuclear explosion; pushing the asteroid with a spacecraft, to name a few — might still have their place. Vasile says improved technologies could make others appealing in the future. (In March, NASA released a report on “near Earth objects” that deemed the nuclear-explosion method the most effective.)
Michael Gaffey, professor of space studies at the University of North Dakota, says the risk of dying from an asteroid strike is about 1 in 2 million. The problem is that the consequences are tremendous; a half-mile-wide asteroid or larger, of which there are more than 700 that come close to Earth’s orbit, could have an impact equal to 60 billion tons of TNT. While it is not likely to happen, you still want to be prepared. “You don’t panic, you don’t have to run around screaming and waving your hands,” Gaffey says. “But you do need to devote resources to it.

Physics Media Files ...

2007-12-09T10:47:00.000-05:00

The first of the media files have been posted.
Enjoy!

You might want to consider subscribing to the podcast -- this way you will not need to go to the site to upload upcoming files.

Voting link for these will be posted once all of the files are uploaded.

Mass vs. Weight 1

2007-12-08T20:23:00.001-05:00

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Mass vs. Weight 2

2007-12-08T20:22:00.000-05:00

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Mass vs. Weight 3

2007-12-08T20:21:00.001-05:00

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Mass vs. Weight 4

2007-12-08T20:20:00.000-05:00

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Mass vs. Weight 5

2007-12-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

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Project 1: Vectors vs Scalars

2007-12-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

Please review the Vectors vs. Scalars presentations posted below. Consider the following questions:

1. Which of these presentations did you find most useful?
2. What about that presentation made it useful?
3. How can it be improved?

Please do NOT post your comments here. Post them under the presentation(s) on which you wish to comment.

Please rate presentations now.

Vectors & Scalars 1

2007-12-07T13:16:00.000-05:00

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Vectors & Scalars 2

2007-12-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

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Vectors & Scalars 3

2007-12-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

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Vectors & Scalars 4

2007-12-07T13:12:00.000-05:00

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Vectors & Scalars 5

2007-12-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

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Gravitational Tractor for Towing Asteroids

2007-11-16T19:03:00.000-05:00

Please answer the question below:
1. Why are scientists concerned about collisions between Earth and Asteroids? [1 pt]
2. Why are scientists concerned about having to land on asteroids in order to “move them out of Earth’s way”? (List at least 3 reasons) [3 pts]
3. Describe how the proposed “Gravitational Tractor” will work. [2 pts]

Here is another cute one

2007-11-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

Now, there is a way to get to school!

2007-11-03T09:18:00.001-04:00

This is really neat!

Educating future scientists

2007-11-01T21:33:00.000-04:00

I'm going to comment on everyone's comments at once. It seems, for the most part, everyone thinks science is important. We are all on the same page that it can only benefit us to know what's going on all around. Weather or not people think it's important to them, everyone has said that it's still important for the purpose of understanding. Human nature is to want to understand. We always want to know what is going on...science or gossip. People learning science in high-school might not be saying "I'm just dying to find out what's up with those hydrogen and oxygen molecules," but someone wanted to know in the beginning, and that's why we know these facts today. Someone wanted to know something other then gossip. They wanted to understand the world around them. So it's important for someone to want to know in the first place, or else we might not know half of what we know today.

You guys are being so earnest that I just can’t help but attempt to play devil’s advocate.

It is important to learn science for those who are going to use science in their future professions. The rest of us can live a million years without science. For example, as long as my doctor is able to accurately diagnose and treat the diseases when I get sick, I’d trust her to do what is right for me and advise me accordingly.

Similarly, I don’t need to know how my car works in order to drive it. Nor do I need to know how to fix it – that is why I hire car mechanics. I don’t need to understand the chemical composition of the drugs I take as long as there are competent people working for the pharmasutical companies who design those drugs. And I certainly do not need to know how to calculate the forces describing motion – things will continue falling and moving the same way regardless of what I know.

Thus, instead of spending money on people like me, who obviously do not need to learn science, our science education dollars would be better spent teaching science to people who plan to make it their future professions.

So, here you go – discuss this.

An alternate view worth hearing

2007-10-31T19:13:00.000-04:00

Upon closer examination, this is worth reposting as a separate strand. I am glad someone brough it up. So, here we go:

Ok this just pisses me off.Heres something to think about, the data which we base our "global warming THEORY" comes from what? It comes from temperature readings and readings of gas levels in our present day atmosphere. So how long have we had a reliable and accurate method of measuring temperature? I think Galileo had one of the first ones in 1593. Now when did we first start recording these temperatures? I dont know. But we notice the increase in temperature within the last 200 years or so. Now how do we know that the earth isnt doin it by itself? Well the earth has never increased this fast and to such a large degree (pun intended). How do we know that? Well those "guys" looks at ice and trees and rocks and it has never done this before. Ok but how far back are these "guys" lookin? Hundreds of Thousands of Years! To me that seems like a BIG scale, i wonder how accurate can it be? How can we be certain that this isnt just a blip, a little jump, how can we be sure that is hasnt already happened? 100,000 year vs 200 hmmm.The world is cyclical, life then death then more life. Rain then water then more rain. Ice age then warming then ice age. The facts are that we dont know, and throwing money at something that could not even be a problem is just stupid. Dont just tell me im doomed then make me give you money to solve it. Nothing pisses me off more than throwing money at a "problem." Global warming is just a tool used by politicians to fuel our fears, its the same as James Fox's 1995 prediction of a 15 percent increase in murder among teenagers. That was used to help Clinton's election and the rate dropped 50 percent within five years. You are all being tricked by power/money-hungry politicians like Al Gore, can someone tell me why he got the noble peace prize?ugh Glaz why do you post this? Im probably the only one who will present a counterpoint against this liberal garbage."Alarm rather than genuine scientific curiosity, it appears, is essential to maintaining funding. And only the most senior scientists today can stand up against this alarmist gale, and defy the iron triangle of climate scientists, advocates and policymakers." -Mr. Lindzen is Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT.http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008220

For my part, I’ll only say one thing: no-one said there is no disagreement among scientists…

What would you do…

2007-10-31T08:48:00.000-04:00

…for a Klondike bar? It might be a bit of a diversion from the theme, but it got polar bears and ice. So, we can pretend we are still on topic.

So, let’s assume we all agree that climate change (regardless of its causes) is an issue which needs to be addressed. From where I sit, it looks like politicians are not likely to get anything substantial accomplished for quite a while. So, it is all up to us – mere mortals. What can you do to address the issue?

Here is my 5-year plan (yes, I know – my communist underbelly is showing)
1. Do not vote republican
2. Drive a fuel efficient car
3. Better insulate my house
4. Put solar panels on the roof of my house
5. Investigate moving back to Russia – when all of you down here are swimming in the waters of melted glaciers, Siberia will be nice and ready for occupancy.

Scientific Laws, Theories & Hypothesis

2007-10-30T18:53:00.000-04:00

Ok, all of you English speakers out there, educate me. If singular (i.e. one) is hypothesis, what do you call it if I have many of those…
But I digress…

Ok this just pisses me off. Heres something to think about, the data which we base our "global warming THEORY" comes from what?

Good thing to ponder: when a scientist says “scientific theory” (such as molecular theory of matter, theory of relativity, theory of evolution or, as in the above quote, global warming theory), what does she mean? She can’t possibly mean an educated guess or something similar to it since the word for that is hypothesis… It can’t mean scientists are uncertain of its predictions or its predictions are not fully tested since, again, that is what the word hypothesis mean.

Since we are about to start learning about theory of gravitation (or is it a law? I forget...):
So what is a scientific theory? How is it different from a law? Hint: read the first chapter of your textbook.

By the way, String Theory is actually not a theory, but a hypothesis (since it is completely and totally untested).

The People's Elbow video

2007-10-29T21:56:00.001-04:00

Thanks! Great find!

Global Warming

2007-10-29T20:01:00.000-04:00

It looks like we need a separate thread for the topic of global warming. So, here we go:

1. Who broke it? (i.e. what are the causes?)
2. Who should fix it?
3. Does everyone needs to know any science to understand that the issues of climate change need to be addressed (i.e. I don’t need to know how my car works in order to be able to drive it…)

Moon Landing Hoax

2007-10-29T13:37:00.000-04:00

For the budding skeptics out there, here is a great site where you will find answers to one of life’s burning questions: Did we really land on the Moon?

For all of you Sci-Fi fans out there: why is the site called “Clavius Moon Base”?

On Pseudo-science. Troisième et dernière partie.

2007-10-28T14:27:00.000-04:00

Moving on...

Assessing science is like assessing an Isaac Asimov novel. The fundementals are based in factors prevalent in society or in the natural world, but take into account human ingenuity and natural phenomena. Overall, it makes you think.

All I got here is: Huh? I am having trouble parsing this one. Heeeelp!

In a society overwhelmed with religious fanaticism and blind acceptance as a key element of the status quo, we need skeptics.

Is this statement truly accurate? Is our society truly “overwhelmed with religious fanaticism”? Is “blind acceptance” a correct description of Americans’ participation in the world? I am not saying there are no problems, but is the situation truly this dire? Yes, the world is in desperate need of skeptical thinkers, but is this the way to argue this point?

People are generally weak and insecure.

Just an opinion here, but I find this Hobbesian view of the world and human nature terribly depressing and rather inaccurate. Again a strongly worded statement does not the truth make… One would hope that our vision of humanity’s political and social interactions have evolved since 17th century. In my opinion such a vision of the human condition is not only outdated, but dangerous. It is this fundamental believe that produces at best nanny-states and at worst oppressive totalitarian regimes. “People are generally weak and insecure,” starts the argument, therefore they need strong government to protect them. In order to protect the weak populace government needs to be able to identify aberrant (i.e. abhorrent) thought. The easiest way to do this … well, bugging phones would be a start. Do you see where I am headed with this? Take it from someone who grew up under such a regime – it is not pretty.

Humanity has always needed something to explain the basics and explore the unknowns involved in the lives we live every day.

No argument here.

Without god or science we would all be walking around in an existentialist haze.

What is your objection to existentialism? The movement gave us plenty of brilliant writers (from Dostoyevsky to Kafka) and great philosophers. In my view, in its spirit existentialism is not that far removed from scientific skepticism. Existentialist thought began with examining and questioning the assertions and assumptions of proceeding philosophical movements. Skeptical thought questions the assumptions and the methodologies underlying scientific conclusions. In spirit the two are not so dissimilar. Thus, of all the hazes in which one can find herself, existential haze does not seem so bad… Hazy reasoning and hazily (or hastily?) assembled arguments seem to be a lot more dangerous.

Where was I going with this convoluted line of reasoning? Yes, the world needs skeptics and, one hopes, good science education would be able to produce a few more of them, but what the world needs even more is people of great ideas to be willing to voice those ideas eloquently and articulately and more importantly sign their names to them.

And finally (unrelated to science, but the question is eating at me) why post a comment on skepticism and pseudoscience under the name “Balzac…” I have read plenty of Balzac in my younger years and (unless I have missed something) there are plenty of other s-words I would associate with his writing (like satirical, sarcastic, sardonic) but skeptical certainly would not be one of them. Did the great French writer change his spots in the jaws of death? Or if the author refers to a (somewhat differently spelled) band, then again, I ask, why? What is the analogy/relevance?

And having responded to the last paragraph she rested…

Responding to anonymous Balzac. Deuxième partie

2007-10-28T12:58:00.000-04:00

Proceeding to the second paragraph…

Thesis: a sprinkling of disjointed statements mirroring the opinions of Skeptic & of the James Randi Foundations does not a coherent argument make.

Again, I happen to agree with the spirit of the comment, but the skeptic in me demands clarifications…

I enjoy learning the stuff, and it's important to mentally stimulate the populace.

Is the importance "to mentally stimulate the populace” axiomatic? Why would this be important? I require clarification…

Science teaches people extremely important lessons that could potentially be learned elsewhere, but fit very nicely into the curriculum. The most important example being skepticism towards the world in which you live, and learning to reason properly using observeable evidence.

I would disagree… If skepticism and critical thinking lessons could be learned elsewhere, quite a few people (like self-proclaimed psychics, mentalists and astrologers to name a few) would have been long out of their respective jobs. Yet, people like Uri Geller and John Edward (of the “Crossing Over” fame) prosper.

Some skepticism lessons, it would seem, are not easily learned…

In response to Prometheus – bringing light to the world!!!

2007-10-28T12:17:00.000-04:00

Copied from the original post:
While I agree on many of the reasons for which others say it is important for us to learn science there is one in particular that I believe is important: science teaches us analysis.

Now one could respond to that by saying that other subjects teach us analysis as well, and I am certainly not disputing that nor demeaning these subjects, but I think that sciences teach us a different type of analysis than subjects like history or english. I view sciences as teaching us a more observational method of analysis whereas other subjects may teach us to analyze thoughts and themes. The reason that this makes sciences so important is that the type of analysis they teach is needed in everyday life for such simple tasks as observing and considering our surroundings and reacting to what we see or learn(for example observing or learning that throwing a rock at a beehive can get you stung and thus reasoning that throwing a rock at a beehive is a bad idea.)

It is learning this sort of analysis and being able to apply it to our world that I think makes science important.

In the perfect world that is perhaps exactly the purpose of science education – teach students how to analyze data and draw conclusions from factual evidence. Science education should be about creating critical thinkers, capable to rationally analyzing evidence before them.

However, I wonder, is that what you are learning? Let’s assume that the content of the Regents Exams provides a summary of all the material and skills NY State expects you to learn. How much of the content of these tests is factual knowledge (which, given need and time, could easily be looked up books) and what percent of these exams are questions testing problem-solving and data analysis? Are you in fact learning critical thinking and analytical skills? Or perhaps the more dangerous (for me) question: Am I in fact teaching you those skills?

Pseudo-arguments of pseudo-dead-French-literary-figures. Première Partie.

2007-10-27T17:46:00.000-04:00

...or in responce to Balzac the Jaws of Death

Let me begin by applauding the strength of conviction and seeming courage. I am especially impressed with willingness to take on Regents Physics curriculum (considering the profession of the person grading you…) This would have qualified as a rather bold and courageous act if not for one small hiccup – as of now I do not know the identity of mysterious Balzac… Thus, my interest was piqued. So, let’s grab a microscope and a dissecting kit and closely examine the above-mentioned argument.

Thesis: what superficially appears to be a reasonable argument upon closer examinations is nothing more than an exercise in sophistry. “Why?” – You ask. Read on…

I don't see much functional use to teaching kids pseudo-science that doesn't fully take into account any factors that would be prevalent outside of the classroom.

Bravo, egregio Signore (or is it "cher monsieur"?)! Well said -- big words and all... But is this statement true? Let’s start with the term pseudo-science. Oxford English Dictionary defines prefix “pseudo-” as (this is a direct quote)

Pseudo -- false, counterfeit, pretended, spurious
(1) Prefix to any noun as adjective forming combinations, …, with the sense ‘false, pretended, counterfeit, spurious, sham, falsely so called or represented; falsely, spuriously, apparently but not in reality’
(2) Special combinations: nearly all terms of modern science, (a) indicating close or deceptive resemblance to the thing denoted by the second element, without real identity or affinity with it; or sometimes simply denoting an abnormal or erratic from or kind of thing; (b) denoting something which does not correspond with the reality, or to which no reality corresponds, as false perceptions, errors of judgment or statement.

So, let’s assume the author used the term “pseudo-science” in the (2) sense of the word… I would further postulate that the intended definition was not described by the (2a) statement. Thus, let’s infer (and the remainder of the sentence appears to support this assumption) that the term was used in (2b) context.

I wonder where our writer goes upon leaving the Physics classroom since it is clearly different from the outside of the classroom I experience daily. When I step outside of my classroom things continue to fall due to gravity as predicted by the laws I teach. Granted: Paper, feathers and other light and small items fall considerably slower than our classroom calculations would predict, but these inconsistencies are addressed by conceptual explanations and examples. Does the author claim that all knowledge learned in the absence of mathematical equation supporting it is pseudo-science?

When I step outside of my classroom unbalanced forces still produce accelerated motion and balanced forces produce motion at constant velocity. No exceptions here… When I step outside of my classroom gravity still acts, planets still rotate, charges still attract and repel according to the physical laws.

Thus, I require an explanation: which part of what I teach can be classified as “pseudo”? Perhaps the author refers to the teaching style..?

More to follow as soon as I catch my breath…

Pre-destiny... or the Greeks were here...

2007-10-27T17:17:00.000-04:00

Copied from the comment thread:

------------------------------------
Reva-T said...
in responce to geppetto:
Its true that with science, we could solve certain problems. But if you think about it, science is what created most of those problems. With out science, there would have been no industry. With no industry, there would have been no use of greenhouse gases. And no greenhouse gases means no global warming. But science is different because everything that has been discovered, was bound to happen. And anything that hasnt been discovered, is bound to be discovered (for the most part).

-------------------------------------

Italics are added by me...
I find myself wondering: is the highlighted statement accurate? Am I alone in this?

Is learning science important/valuable?

2007-10-24T15:24:00.000-04:00

Write a response to some of the questions below:

Why do we learn science? Is there a value in learning science? If you are not going into a scientific field, is there still a value in taking science classes?
or
Is all science relevant to everyday life? If it is not, does it matter? Do we still need to learn it?

Remember: you are expected to write one response and reply to 2 responses of your classmates.