Science, Matter, and Energy: Introduction
Imagine a day without these things:
These may be things that you use daily in life, yet we often use them without understanding that science and technology contributed to their creation. Science is the body of knowledge of all the stuff that exists in the universe, but it is also the process through which we learn about all that stuff. From the smallest particles to the outer reaches of the universe, science is a path to understanding ourselves and the world around us.
Lesson Objectives
After you have completed this section, you will be able to:
- Identify questions and problems that can be answered through scientific investigation.
- Describe atoms, elements, compounds, and isotopes.
- Describe physical and chemical changes to matter.
- Identify the different forms and quality of energy.
- Perform calculations and conversions using different units of energy.
Lesson Warm-up
Solve This!
Most of us love the challenge of a puzzle or a riddle. Let's see if you can figure out the solution to the puzzle in this tutorial!
Make a list of all the things you did while trying to solve this puzzle that are similar to what scientists do when they are trying to answer a scientific question. Save this list so you may refer to it later when learning about the scientific process.
Yes, you were doing science. Wasn't it fun? You followed a process to solve the riddle. This is similar to what scientists to do solve a question or problem.
Click the image to open the interactive activity.
Text Version