WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 387.

Working on the text

Ex.7. Pronounce the words correctly:

science, subject, method, natural, knowledge, process, observation, investigation, event, the Earth, to rotate, major, category, to classify, to investigate, physical, matter, energy, physics, to overlap, motion, human, artificial, limb, muscles, explanations, to modify, incomplete, accurate, technologies, invisible, fluid, temperature, eighteenth-century, to measure, balance, to perform, to observe, to occur, to record, experiment, to resemble, to attempt.

Ex.8. Read and translate the following text. Divide it into logical parts. Entitle each of these parts:

TEXT

Science is not just a subject in school. It is a method for studying the natural world. After all, the word “science” comes from the Latin word scientia, which means “knowledge.” Science is a process that uses observation and investigation to gain knowledge about events in nature. Nature follows a set of rules. Many rules, such as those concerning how the human body works, are complex. Other rules, such as the fact that the Earth rotates about once every 24 h, are much simpler. Scientists ask questions to learn about the natural world.

Major Categories of Science covers many different topics that can be classified according to three main categories: (1) Life science deals with living things. (2) Earth science investigates the Earth and space. (3) Physical science deals with matter and energy.

The students of physics must study physical science as their main subject of interest. Sometimes, though, a scientific study will overlap the categories. One scientist, for example, might study the motions of the human body to understand how to build better artificial limbs. Is this scientist studying energy and matter or how muscles operate? She is studying both life science and physical science. It is not always clear what kind of science you are using.

Scientific explanations help you understand the natural world. Sometimes one must modify these explanations. As more people learned about the natural world, they found that some of the earlier explanations were incomplete or that they might provide more accurate answers for new technologies.

In the late 18^th century most scientists thought that heat was an invisible fluid with no mass. Scientists observed that heat seems to flow like a fluid. It also moves away from a warm body in all directions, just as a fluid moves outward when you spill it on the floor.

However, the heat fluid idea did not explain everything. If heat was an actual fluid, an iron bar at a temperature of 1,000°C should have more mass than it does at 100°C because it would have more of the heat fluid in it. Eighteenth-century scientists thought they were not able to measure the small mass of the heat fluid on the balances they had. When additional investigations showed no difference in mass, scientists had to change the explanation.

Scientists learn new information about the natural world by performing investigations, which they can do in many different ways. Some investigations involve simply observing something that occurs and recording the observations, such as in a journal. Other investigations involve setting up experiments that test the effect of one thing on another. Some investigations involve building a model that resembles something in the natural world and then testing the model to see how it acts. Often, a scientist will use something from all three types of investigations when attempting to learn about the natural world.

Ex.9. Translate the following word combinations into Russian:

a subject in school, a method for studying, the natural world, to use observation and investigation, to gain knowledge, events in nature, complex rules, to deal with living things, to investigate the Earth and space, the Earth rotates about, to deals with matter and energy, main subject of interest, to overlap the categories, motions of the human body, it is not always clear, more accurate answers, an invisible fluid, with no mass, to flow like a fluid, in all directions, to spill a fluid on the floor, an iron bar, at a temperature of, to perform additional investigations, to record the observations, to set up experiments, to test the effect, to resemble something in the natural world.

Ex.10. Translate the definitions into Russian. Find in the text terms (nouns and verbs) defined by these definitions:

a) to move or turn around a central fixed point;

b) a scientific or academic examination of the facts of a subject or a problem;

c) the information, understanding or skills that you gain through education or experience;

d) physical substance in general that everything in the world consists of; not mind or spirit;

e) a statement, fact or situation that tells you why smth. happens; a treason given for smth.;

f) made or produced to copy smth. natural; not real;

g) to look like or be similar to another person/thing;

h) the measurement in degrees of how hot or cold a thing/place is;

i) a liquid; a substance that can flow;

Ex.11. Answer the following questions:

a) Science is only a school subject, isn'it?

b) Is science a method for studying artificial or natural world?

c) What does the Latin word scientia mean?

d) Are the rules of Nature complex or simple?

e) What are three main categories of science according to which many different topics can be classified?

f) Did people always agree with the old ideas while learning about the nature?

g) What were scientists' ideas of heat in the late 18^th century?

h) What are the main methods and ways of learning new information about the natural world?

i) What do investigators do when performing their investigations?

j) One can divide all investigations into four types, can't one?

Ex.12. Ask general, alternative and disjunctive questions to the following sentences:

a) Science is not just a subject in school.

b) Nature follows a set of rules.

c) Scientific explanations help you understand the natural world.

d) The heat moves away from a warm body in all directions.

e) Additional investigations showed no difference in mass.

Ex.13. Translate the following sentences-statements into Russian. Agree or disagree with them:

1. Science is only the method for studying the natural world.
2. Science is a process that uses observation and investigation to gain knowledge about events in nature.
3. Sometimes scientists might study the motions of the human body to understand how to build better artificial limbs.
4. No scientific explanations can help people to understand the natural world.
5. In the late 19^th century most scientists thought that heat was an invisible fluid with no mass.
6. Eighteenth-century scientists were absolutely able to measure the small mass of the heat fluid.
7. Scientists learn new information about the natural world by performing various investigations.
8. Some investigations involve simply observing something and recording these observations.
9. Some investigations involve building a model that resembles something in the natural world and then testing the model to see how it acts.
10. Scientists will often use something from all 3 types of investigations when attempting to learn something about the natural world.

Ex.14. Translate into English:

1. Я полагаю, что это – один из лучших методов для изучения многих природных явлений.

2. В настоящее время большинство детей знает, что Земля совершает полный оборот вокруг своей оси за 24 часа.

3. Многие научные исследования включают в себя наблюдения за тем, что происходит с тем или иным объектом.

4.Это – настоящий ученый! Он всегда применяет научные объяснения даже в самых простых случаях.

5. Для физика проведение исследований – один из основных способов для получения новой информации.

6. Интересно, а почему в конце 18-го столетия большинство ученых думали, что тепло представляет собой невидимую жидкость?

7. Я думаю, что ваше объяснение этого явления неполно, и Вы обязаны дать более точный ответ на вопрос.

8. Его слова напомнили мне то, что я прочитал в его же более ранней статье.

Ex.15. Retell the text “What is science?”