The Many Types Of Science
What is "science"?
Science is an area of study which, if you look at what scientists do, they don't do anything more than making our world a better place to live. They don't get up in the morning and just stretch, and say I think I'll go into the lab and mix some stuff together and see what happens. No, they're always trying to solve a problem. And so when you talk about scientists, you don't think of someone basically in a white lab coat because they don't have to have white lab coats. Some scientists wear swimming suits, business suits, shorts, hiking outfits, and they're all doing science, but all they're trying to do is make the world a better place to live, and to understand our natural world, and pass that information on to everybody else.
What is a "scientific theory"?
When you're talking about science, the word theory takes on a little bit of a different meaning than thinking about a solution to something. That's my theory for an answer. But a theory in science is something that has been proven over and over in the past and can be proven again in the future, so that theory will hold as long as it can be proven over and over again.
Why do scientists "categorize"?
Scientists are a very organised group of people who even have systems for naming and categorizing things. They need to do that so that when a scientist in one country is talking to a scientist in another country, everyone is using the same terminology and categories. For this reason, many things are given Latin or Greek names, because these languages aren't used in modern communication any more, and can be used around the world so every scientist will understand what the other scientist is talking about. Scientists have a certain procedure for naming and categorizing things. Everything is catgorized by certain groups, and a name is proposed so that all scientists name things the same way. That way scientists eradicate the confusion of people not realising they are talking about the same things, just using different words. Scientists categorize so that everything is the same worldwide.
What are the different parts of a science experiment?
Scientists like to refer to the different parts of a science experiment as the scientific method. We all go through the scientific method, but we don't stop and think about it that way. For instance, if you came home late at night, walked in the house, flicked the switch and your lights didn't go on, you would have a problem. And that's the first step that a scientist goes through, they have a problem to solve. They then come up with an idea on how to solve this problem. And that 's called a hypothesis. So they say, "Well, maybe my light bulb's burned out." The next step is to then go and carry out an experiment. So they buy a new light bulb, take the old light bulb out, put the new light bulb in and then flick the switch again and at that time, they're making an observation of their experiment. If they flick the switch and realize that the light bulb still doesn't go on, they reach a conclusion. They say, "Aha! It wasn't my burned out light bulb." In the different parts of a science experiment, you go through those five steps. The order is: problem, hypothesis, experiment, observation and conclusion. Those are the five steps in solving a scientific problem.
I'm interested in people and animals. What is the science for me?
If you are interested in people and animals you're going to love biology, it is the science for you. Biology is the scientific study of living things, and what better thing to study than living things, because we're living things, and that's where our interest comes from. But, when you study biology you can get into areas such as physiology and how our body works and anatomy, how our body is constructed. You can get into marine biology. Take a look at the plants and animals in the oceans. To get into fresh water scientific studies, you might want to research limnology, the study of lakes and rivers, basically fresh water. If you are interested in living things, then this science of studying plants and animals - biology - is for you.
I'm interested in just animals. What is the science for me?
There's zoology which is basically the study of animals. You can study animals for studying animal sake. You can study animal behavior. You can study animal psychology. There's a ton of areas that you can concentrate your effort in studying animals.
I like to mix things together to make new things. What is the science for me?
Your favorite science if you're looking at mixing things together just has to be chemistry. Chemistry is a fun area. You have to remember that scientists don't just mix things together just to see what happens, because that could be dangerous. But they're trying to solve a problem. They try to solve problems. They'll mix things together. You'll be using beakers, flasks, test tubes and all kinds of things. Some of the reactions are colorful, some give off smoke and odors. So all your senses would be involved. It's a fun area. It's a difficult area, too, because you have to learn a lot about all the reactions that take place in the whole world of chemistry, but I think that's the one for you.
I'm interested in how physical objects behave. What is the science for me?
If you're interested in how things around you operate, then I think physics, and physical science is the thing you'd like to get into, because in that area you'd be studying why things move, how things move, how things get energy, or how things lose energy. All of that is just basically physical science and it's just, it's our everyday world and that would be a fantastic, fun area to take a look at.
I like rocks and dirt. What is the science for me?
If you like rocks and dirt, Earth Science is the thing for you because rocks and dirt are all kinds of other things in the earth that kind of help the earth, and the rocks and dirt all interact together. And one of it is water. You could take a look at water tables, aquifers, where water is stored in the earth, and how water flows underground in the earth. You could take a look at the drilling fields, such as drilling for water, drilling for oil, finding gas, finding coal. All those things are in the area of Earth Science.
I like to look at stars and planets. What is the science for me?
If you're interested in stars and planets and how the universe works, astronomy is the science for you. Astronomy is the science of space, planets and stars as well as time travel and things of that nature. So if you're interested in those things, then astronomy and earth science are the things you should become involved in.
I like storms. What is the science for me?
If you love storms, it's meteorology. If you love storms you could even get into the area of predicting weather. You could be a storm chaser. You could study lightning. You could study clouds, cloud formations, and moisture in the atmosphere. All of this stuff is just fascinating to study.
I like to swim and surf in the ocean. What is the science for me?
If you're big on ocean and surfing, man, if that's your love, then oceanography is for you. Oceanography would even cover things such as marine biology, and studying ocean life. Just oceanography itself where you study the ocean, currents, why salt water is more dense than regular water, and other water related questions. What makes a wave? All of these all tied together in your love of the ocean and swimming and surfing.
I like to break big rocks into smaller rocks. What is the science for me?
If you like breaking rocks down, then you really want to get into geology. Geology is a study of rocks. Rocks and minerals and geology covers how they're formed, how they change through time, where they show up on the Earth, and why they're in certain places. So if you like messing around with rocks, that's the field for you.