Topic |
Description |
1B-Scientific Inquiry |
Hypotheses are widely used in science for choosing what data to pay attention to and what additional data to seek, and for guiding the interpretation of data (both new and previously available). |
2B-Mathematics, Science, and Technology |
Mathematics provides a precise language for science and technology - to describe objects and events, to characterize relationships between variables, and to argue logically. |
9B-Symbolic Relationships |
In some cases, the more of something there is, the more rapidly it may change. |
Any mathematical model, graphic or algebraic, is limited in how well it can represent how the world works. The usefulness of a mathematical model for predicting may be limited by uncertainties in measurements, by neglect of some important influences, or by requiring too much computation. |
11A-Systems |
Understanding how things work and designing solutions to problems of almost any kind can be facilitated by systems analysis. In defining a system, it is important to specify its boundaries and subsystems, and identify what its input and its output are expected to be. |
The successful operation of a designed system usually involves feedback. The feedback of output from some parts of a system to input of other parts can be used to encourage what is going on in a system, discourage it, or reduce its discrepancy from some desired value. The stability of a system can be greater when it includes appropriate feedback mechanisms. |
11B-Models |
The basic idea of mathematical modeling is to find a mathematical relationship that behaves in the same ways as the objects or processes under investigation. A mathematical model may give insight about how something really works or may fit observations very well without any intuitive meaning. |
Computers have greatly improved the power and use of mathematical models by performing calculations that are very long, very complicated, or repetitive. Therefore computers can show the consequences of applying complex rules or of changing the rules. The graphic capabilities of computers make them useful in the design and testing of devices and structures and in the simulation of complicated processes |
The usefulness of a model can be tested by comparing its predictions to actual observations in the real world. But a close match does not necessarily mean that the model is the only "true" model or the only one that would work. |
11C-Constancy and Change |
Graphs and equations are useful (and often equivalent) ways for depicting and analyzing patterns of change. |