Science as a Product

 Science as a Product

"Science is both a body of knowledge (Product) and method of inquiry (Process)”. 
Science as a product includes scientific terms, facts, concepts, Scientific Laws and scientific theories.

1. Scientific Terms are new definable words having an important meaning to the students.
Eg: Medulla, Pelvis, Cortex etc

2. Facts: A fact is defined as something that exist or happen. The source of information and the method used in arriving at a fact should be scientific. Facts are verifiable pieces of information obtained through observations. The truth of facts is always dynamic and tentative, i.e, it is not permanent. So scientific facts are always open to be replaced by newly discovered facts. They are open to further verification, experimentation and research. Therefore facts are flexible and dynamic.
Eg: Human beings have a pair of kidney.

3. Concepts: Concepts are generalized ideas formed by the students towards an object, person or event or process. Concepts do not represent a particular thing, but it include the members of the whole class. Concepts are always a composition of different facts. A concept will have a name, examples attributes( characteristics) and a definition.
Eg: kidney, fruits, photosynthesis, osmosis etc

4.Generalization: Generalizations are conclusions drawn from a number of similar direct or indirect experiences. In Science direct experience is in the form of self observation and experimentation or more useful for making generalisation. The product of the process of generalization is a generalized fact or statement which is known as a scientific law or scientific principle.

5. Scientific law: A verified generalization is considered as a scientific law. The generalized fact or concept is subjected to further verification through proper experimentation, close observation and application in similar situations. The final conclusion drawn on the basis of such a verification is called scientific law.
Scientific law is a statement based on repeated experimental observations that describe the outcomes of phenomenon of the universe. Laws are widely accepted as true but new studies can lead to changes in the law. Scientific laws do not try to explain how some phenomenon works or occur.

Eg: Mendel's laws of heredity. These laws help us to understand the traits appearing in the next generation but it never explain how the traits aur inherited by the offsprings.

6. Scientific theory: Scientific theory is an explanation of any phenomenon that exist in the natural world. Scientific theory is a structured explanation to explain a group of facts or phenomena in the natural world that often incorporates a scientific hypothesis and scientific laws. It is based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observations and experiments. Theories are formed by testing the scientific hypothesis. The observations that are gathered during the scientific process theories allow scientist to make predictions about unobserved phenomena.

Every scientific theory relies on the scientific method. A scientist may make an observation and devise a hypothesis to explain that observation, then design an experiment to test that hypothesis. If the hypothesis is shown to be incorrect, the scientist will develop a new hypothesis and begin the process again. If the hypothesis is supported by the results of the experiment, it will go on to be tested again. If the hypothesis isn't disproven or surpassed by a better explanation, the scientist may incorporate it into a larger theory that helps to explain the observed phenomenon.

Scientific theory is not the end result of the scientific method; theories can be proven or rejected, just like hypotheses and theories are continually improved or modified as more information is gathered, so that the accuracy of the prediction becomes greater over time.

Theories are foundations for furthering scientific knowledge and for putting the information gathered to practical use. Scientists use theories to develop inventions or find a solution for a problem.
Eg: Theory of Natural Selection.

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