Page 324 - NS-2 Textbook

Physical Science

Since the dawn of recorded history humankind has sought Those who engage in the search for scientific truth
to make sense of the world around us. In seeking to gain are called scielltists. Although some important scientific
this Imderstanding, we have made much progress in al- discoveries are made by chance, most are the result of
most every field of human endeavor. Broadly speaking, prolonged work over time, called research. Doing re-
sciellce is the search for relationships that can be used to search involves generating ideas, creating hypotheses
explain and predict how and why people, animals, and (possible explanations), performing experinlents to ver-
things behave as they do. When these relationships are ify or sometimes disprove the hypotheses, and then pub-
applied to devices designed to assist us in satisfying our lishing the results so others in the scientific community
everyday needs and goals, this gives rise to tecllllologtJ. can carry the progress fOlward.
There are many branches of science. One branch con- Scientists use many methods and techniques in their
sists of the biological sciences, which deal with the study investigations, but all use some form of a systematic ap-
of living things. Another branch is collectively referred to proach called the scielltific method. It involves some or all
as the physical sciences, concerned with matter, forces, of the following steps: (1) making observations, (2) form-
and energy. 1\vo of the main topics in the physical sci- ing questions, (3) forming hypotheses or explanations,
ences are physics and chemistry. Physics is the study of (4) conducting experinlents to test the hypotheses, (5) col-
how forces, matte1i and energy in various forms interact. lecting data and analyzing the results, and (6) drawing
Chemistry is the study of matter and how it changes conclusions. As the result of their applications of the sci-
under various conditions. Other topical areas included in entific theory, scientists form theories and laws to help
physical science are geology, the Shldy of the Earth's make predictions concerning the fuhlre. A theory is a rea-
structure; meteorology, the study of the atmosphere; and soned explanation of observed events, while a law is a
oceanography, the study of the oceans. 11,ese and other statement that describes and predicts the future outcome
applied physical sciences used in the study of the Earth of these events. Many times scientific theories and laws
are nowadays often referred to as the II earth sciences." are expressed as mathematical equations that may be
While they are often studied individually, all the physi- used to predict outcomes of natural events.
cal sciences are ultimately related and are often depen- In this unit we will take a brief look at several of the
dent on one another. For example, an oceanographer physical sciences subjects of key importance to today's
must know about the chemishy of water, and a chemist Navy that have not already been covered in other units
must know about the physics of atomic structure. of this text.

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