What Science Is
What Science Is
Items in this lesson
What Science Is
Use the title slide to set a broad, welcoming tone. The user's request is very general, so this lesson introduces science as a way of finding out about the world rather than covering one branch in depth.
Learning goal
I can explain what science is, how scientists investigate questions, and why evidence matters.
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What words come to mind when you hear science?
Use this to surface prior ideas such as experiments, facts, discovery, nature, space, evidence or laboratories. Briefly pick out which ideas link to evidence and investigation.
Science studies the world
Science is a way of understanding the natural world
It asks questions about how and why things happen
Scientists use observations, measurements and tests
Ideas in science are based on evidence, not guesses alone
Keep science rooted in evidence and investigation. Avoid making it sound like a fixed list of facts; emphasise that scientific knowledge can improve when new evidence appears.
Branches of science
Science includes different fields that focus on different kinds of questions:
Biology - living things
Chemistry - substances and how they change
Physics - forces, energy and matter
Earth and space science - planets, weather, rocks and the universe
You can briefly mention that the boundaries between subjects often overlap. For example, climate science uses physics, chemistry and biology together.
Science begins with questions
Scientists often start by noticing something and asking a question.
For example:
Why do plants grow better in sunlight?
What makes an object speed up or slow down?
Why do some materials dissolve in water?
Distinguish a scientific question from an opinion question. Scientific questions can be explored using observations and evidence.
How scientists investigate
A simple investigation often follows this pattern:
ask a question
make a prediction
test it fairly
collect results
draw a conclusion
Avoid presenting this as a rigid set of steps that every scientist follows in exactly the same order. Real scientific work is often more flexible, but this model is useful for beginners.
Fair tests and variables
A fair test changes one variable at a time.
Independent variable - what is changed
Dependent variable - what is measured
Control variables - what is kept the same
This helps scientists link cause and effect more clearly.
A quick example may help: if testing plant growth, the amount of light could be changed, growth measured, and water, soil and plant type kept the same.
What makes a question scientific?
It uses evidence
It is popular
It is imaginative
It is opinion-based
Checks the idea from slides 2–4 that scientific questions can be explored through observation and evidence, not just personal views.
Complete the investigation summary
Science helps us understand the natural world by using evidence. In a simple investigation, scientists ask a question, make a prediction, test it fairly and collect results. In a fair test, the independent variable is changed, while control variables stay the same.
The blanks focus on the key taught terms from the first subtopic: evidence, prediction and independent variable.
Why does a fair test matter?
Expected elements: a fair test changes only one variable at a time, keeps control variables the same, and helps show cause and effect clearly.
Evidence matters
Scientific ideas are trusted when they are supported by evidence.
observations can reveal patterns
measurements make results more precise
repeated results make conclusions stronger
weak evidence leads to uncertain conclusions
This is the key conceptual turn of the lesson: science is not just about having ideas, but about testing them with evidence.
Scientists use models
Some things are too small, too large or too complex to study directly.
Scientists use models to represent them, such as:
diagrams of cells
models of the solar system
particle models of solids, liquids and gases
Clarify that a model is not a perfect copy. It is a simplified representation used to explain or predict.
Science changes with new evidence
Scientific knowledge is reliable, but it is not frozen.
new tools can produce better measurements
new evidence can support, refine or challenge an idea
strong explanations survive many tests over time
Students often think changing ideas means science is unreliable. Stress the opposite: changing with evidence is one of science's strengths.
Science in everyday life
Science helps people make sense of daily life and solve problems.
Examples include:
medicine and health
electricity and transport
weather forecasts
materials used in buildings, phones and clothing
This slide helps answer the 'why should I care?' part of the central question.
Video: science explained
Watch this video as a short overview of science and scientific thinking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu4jjpKB_6M
The user explicitly asked to include this video. Since the schema only supports standard content parts, include the link clearly on its own slide so the teacher can open or embed it in presentation software.
Which statement best explains why evidence matters?
It proves every idea forever
It makes all models perfect
It supports conclusions clearly
It removes the need to test
Targets the key conceptual turn in slides 7–9: evidence strengthens conclusions, but science can still change with new evidence.
Complete the science ideas paragraph
Scientists often use models to represent things that are too small, large or complex to study directly. Scientific knowledge can change when new evidence appears. This is a strength of science, because better measurements can improve explanations over time.
Echoes the exact ideas from slides 8 and 9 without introducing new contexts.
Where do you notice science most in everyday life?
Health
Transport
Weather
Technology
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What is one thing you will remember from this lesson?
Reflection only. Invite students to name one clear takeaway such as evidence, fair tests, variables, models or science in everyday life.
What helped you understand science best today?
Reflection only. Encourage students to mention a helpful feature such as the examples, the video, the diagram of investigation steps or the glossary terms.
Glossary
science - the study of the natural world using evidence
observation - information gathered by noticing and recording
evidence - information used to support an idea or conclusion
prediction - what someone thinks will happen based on knowledge
variable - a factor that can change in an investigation
fair test - a test where only one variable is changed
model - a simplified representation used to explain something
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