ICT in Science Teaching Learning

7.Science and technology

Chapter objectives

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to

1. understand the way science and technology have grown
2. develop some basic understanding of ICTs that we are surrounded by – phones, TV, radio, satellites and computers
3. use different software applications for learning subject topics
4. understand simulations and how are they used
5. use the internet to access information

You will work with your teacher in this module. She will guide you through the various topics as well as give examples for each of these topics from your syllabus. Several examples here will require you to do practical experiments in the science lab as well as observe things outside your classroom.

Science and technology

What is the connection between science and technology? Study of science includes a method of observing things around us, thinking about why those events happen, explaining why the events happen, recording information about the events and also predicting what might happen. The understanding of phenomena can lead to the development of tools – this is what we call technology. The technology can provide us more methods of observing, experimenting and recording. And this in turn results in the advancement of science. Thus, science and technology are very closely connected.

One of the technologies that has a great influence on many areas of our life today is Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). These include the computer and the internet for transmitting information. You have already learnt about the history and development of computers. Now we will look at the various ways in which computers can be used for scientific research and study.

Making large calculations

Computers make it easy for scientists to do calculations with large numbers, for example number of cells or number of stars.

Make models for study

Experiments in science are of different kinds. Some are small, some are large, some are simple, some need lots of equipment, some are very complex and need lots of skill to do and some are impossible to do physically. Can you think of some examples of each of these kinds?

Computers help scientists in making models of complex and physically difficult experiments. If we want to find out whether a medicine will work or not, it is possible to build a computer model of the human cell for simulating how it will respond to the medicine. Similarly, we cannot go to a star and study the radio waves produced; but we can model it on a computer.

	Geological map of the world
This is simulation of a supernova explosion. This has been made on the computer so that scientists can study what causes an explosion, what happens during an explosion and what is the effect afterwards.	This is a geological map of the world – you can see the rock structure in the Himalayas, Andes and other mountain ranges of the world. This map has been produced from many local, paper maps and putting them on the computer.

Connecting scientists and building databases

Science is everywhere. When computers are used to share the data collected, more people can have access to it. In Bengaluru, the National Centre of Biological Sciences wants to build a database of scientific data by getting data on trees and plants from all over Karnataka. Such a database will be available to many people.

Lab exercises

The internet is a very useful resource for getting information about many topics.

1. With the help of your teacher, look at the following websites:

[[1]]

[[2]]

This will give you information about satellites and how they are made and used.

2. Check the internet for information about the Citizen Sparrow Project to see how the computer can help collect scientific information from many people and help make analyses.

What are computer simulations?

Computer simulations are very useful for scientific research when a physical experiment may be very costly or dangerous or extremely time consuming to do. When a scientist is studying a problem, she will make assumptions about what causes the change and make predictions about what will change. This information can be input to the computer and the simulation will make all the calculations and show what changes happen. Sometimes, the changes that the simulation will show will be different from what the scientist predicted. This will help the scientists refine the theory. The simulation shows the experiment on a computer. The scientist can change the inputs to see how the experiment changes. This helps in the development of new knowledge.

Simulations are different from animations

Computer models are different from animations. In an animation, we simply see a movie which shows a phenomenon happening. The inputs cannot be changed.

Your teacher will show you the following. Write down what you observe in the two activities. Is there any difference between the two?

1. Applications> Education> PhET> My Solar System
2. Applications> Education> Kstars> Tools> Solar System
3. Check out the following link on the solar system.

[[3]]

Computer simulations for studying science

PhET is a software application that contains computer demonstrations of experiments and activities. These are called simulation. A simulation is like doing an experiment on the computer.

Lab exercises

You can find PhET under Applications> Education> Science. We will learn more about simulations a little later when we learn about the use of computers in science. The PhET simulation can also be found on the Internet at [[4]].

When you open PhET you will see a page like the one shown below.

When we click on Play with sims – it will open simulations in various subjects. We will click on Physics and scroll down to the simulation on Waves on a String. When we want to open a simulation, we click on the green rectangle which says 'Run Now'. And this will start the simulation.

Exercise 1 : Observe the simulation 'Wave on a String'

You will see a picture like this. This is similar to a situation that you might have had where you tie a rope to one end and the other end is in your hand.

When you shake your hand, the rope will shake though it will be fixed at the other end. Similarly, if we move the wrench here, the rope (which is a collection of beads) will also move without being removed from the other end.

This simulation will allow you to move the string in different ways using the mouse and the various choices you have. Your teacher will explain what these various choices are.

Physics simulation: Waves on a string -I

In this simulation, you would have noticed two words – tension and damping. Tension is the force that will get set up in a rope when you pull on it. How much tension gets set up depends on the material of the string. If you have a cotton saree as a rope and a nylon string as a rope, they will move in different ways. Damping means reducing. When I pull up the rope, the rope will try to resist that pull and this resistance is called damping.

Answer the following questions

1. When you 'move' the wrench up and down, did the string move? How did it move? How did each of the beads move?
2. When you look at the simulation, it looks like something is moving from one end to another. What is moving?
3. Let us understand what happens when you move the string using the manual option. You can complete the table below.

Activity	What do you observe ?
Move the wrench upwards
Move the wrench downwards
Move the wrench upwards and downwards
Are the beads in the string moving left to right; right to left, or up and down? What does this tell you about waves
How fast does the string move when tension is high and when tension is low. Is there a difference and why?
When you add damping how does the string move

1. Let us understand what happens when you move the string using the oscillating option. You can complete the table below. You will see that there is a green rectangle on the top in which there are control buttons for amplitude, frequency and damping. We know what damping is. At the end of this simulation, you will be able to describe amplitude and frequency.

Increase and decrease amplitude	How does the wave look? How do the beads move? What changes in the beads when you change the amplitude? Do all the beads move in the same way? When you increase or decrease amplitude, what happens to the frequency
Increase and decrease frequency	How does the wave look? How do the beads move? What changes in the beads when you change the frequency? Do all the beads move in the same way? When you increase or decrease frequency, what happens to the amplitude?
Change the values of tension and damping	What do you observe is happening to the wave? What happens if the wave end is not fixed but loose?
Use the ruler to see how the beads move?	How far do the beads jump? Does it change?

When you use the ruler you will notice that some of the beads jump very high – much more than when the wave started. Why is this so? How high the beads go is related to the amplitude. Discuss with your teacher why the beads jump so high after a while and also the relationship with the amplitude of the wave. Describe what you understand by amplitude and frequency.

Chapter summary

1. Science and technology are linked; technology has helped the development of science.
2. Computers have made many improvements in how we study science. They can be used to simulate models, do large calculations,develop databases and help connect people.
3. The computer and Internet technologies can also be used for studying science in schools.
4. You have studied about ecosystems, biomes through videos.
5. You have seen the difference between simulation and animation.

Exercises

1. Open the PhET simulation on Colour Vision. Run both the simulations – RGB Bulbs and Single Bulb. Then, answer the following questions:

1. When only one bulb is used, what colour does the man see? Why?
2. When more than one colour is used, what colour does the man see? Why? Does this change if I move the sliders on each of the bulbs the man sees? If it changes, why does it change?
3. When all the three bulbs are used, what is the colour that the man sees? Where else do we see white light? If R,G,B when mixed give the white light, what can you say about the nature of the red, green and blue.
4. When does the man see any colour and when does he see black?
5. What is the filter doing? Explain the difference in colour between the source being monochromatic (single colour) and white.

1. Open the PhET simulation on Friction under Physics/ Motion. Run the simulation and answer the following questions.

1. What do the moving green and yellow circles indicate?
2. When you are rubbing the yellow book on the green book what happens? How do you know that the heat is being generated?
3. When the temperature goes very high, the yellow circles fly off. What does this mean physically?

Additional resources

1. [[5]] - For a description of radio astronomy
2. http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/History.htm' – 'Growth in computer technology