Nature and Structure of Science MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Nature and Structure of Science - Download Free PDF

Cognitive validity is one of the key criteria proposed by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005) to ensure that the science curriculum is meaningful and accessible to learners. It refers to the alignment of curriculum content, pedagogy, and expectations with the cognitive level and developmental stage of the learner.

Key Points

•  The option that highlights that the curriculum should be age-appropriate and aligned with students' cognitive development captures the essence of cognitive validity.
• It emphasizes the need to design curriculum content that students can understand and process at their particular stage of intellectual development, enabling meaningful and deeper learning rather than rote memorization or superficial coverage of advanced topics.

Hence, the correct answer is the curriculum should be designed to be age-appropriate and aligned with students' cognitive development, fostering deeper understanding rather than superficial learning.

Biological science is the study of living organisms, their structures, functions, growth, evolution, and interactions with their environment. It is a dynamic and evolving field that combines various methods and approaches to explore the complexity of life.

Key Points

•  The structure of biological science is best described as interdisciplinary, involving research, observation, and experimentation.
• Biological science integrates concepts from various fields like chemistry, physics, and environmental science, and applies them to understand living organisms.
• Through research, observation, and controlled experimentation, scientists gather data and test hypotheses, leading to new discoveries in areas such as genetics, ecology, and physiology.

Hence, the correct answer is interdisciplinary, involving research, observation, and experimentation.

In science, the nature of knowledge is dynamic, continuously evolving as new evidence is gathered and existing theories are refined. 

Key Points

• Science is collaborative and evolving. The progress in understanding phenomena, like gravity, is shaped by multiple contributors over time.
• This is central to how science works: it builds upon past discoveries and is subject to change as new evidence and technologies emerge.
• Galileo's experiments laid the groundwork, while Newton's laws of motion and gravity further refined the understanding. This highlights the continuous nature of scientific progress. 

Hint

• Science is not based on fixed principles that do not change. On the contrary, the development of scientific knowledge is dynamic. Scientific theories are refined or replaced as new evidence becomes available. 
• Scientific progress is not driven solely by individual discoveries. While individual contributions are important, scientific knowledge is a collective endeavor. The theory of gravity, for example, involved the work of several scientists over centuries, not just one person’s discovery.
• Science is not an isolated activity with little input from outside sources. Scientific research is interconnected, with ongoing communication, collaboration, and critique among scientists across the globe. The contributions of many individuals and groups play a crucial role in advancing scientific understanding.

Hence, the correct answer is science is a collaborative and evolving field.

In the field of science, theories and models are continuously refined and reshaped as new evidence emerges. 

Key Points

•  Einstein’s theory of relativity challenges the long-held belief that space and time are absolute.
• According to this theory, time and space are relative to the motion of the observer.
• This fundamental shift demonstrates that scientific knowledge is not fixed; it evolves as new theories emerge and as we gather more data to refine our understanding of the universe.
• The development of the theory illustrates how science is subject to change based on new evidence and how scientific ideas adapt over time in response to new insights.

Hint

• Science being influenced by social and cultural contexts can sometimes be true, but it doesn't directly relate to the fundamental nature of Einstein's scientific breakthrough. His theory was more a result of mathematical reasoning and empirical evidence rather than cultural factors of the time.
• Personal biases and individual perspectives can sometimes affect scientific inquiry, but the development of the theory of relativity is not a case of scientific knowledge being driven by personal viewpoints. It was driven by objective observations and rigorous mathematical formulations.
• While science aims for objectivity, the theory of relativity specifically highlights how science evolves and changes based on new evidence rather than being a fixed and unchanging body of knowledge.

Hence, the correct answer is science is ever-evolving and subject to change based on new evidence.

The nature of science involves understanding that it is not only about individual achievements but also about collective efforts, ongoing change, and interaction with different fields of knowledge. 

Key Points

•  The statement "several others before him worked on it but failed" reflects the idea that science is a collective enterprise.
• Scientific advancements often result from the work of many individuals, building on each other's ideas and efforts, even if they don't always succeed in the first attempt.
• The statement also indicates that science is dynamic (B), as scientific knowledge and technological inventions evolve over time. What was once unsuccessful can become successful as new ideas, techniques, and tools emerge.

Hint

• Science being interdisciplinary (A) could be relevant in some contexts, but it isn't directly indicated by the teacher's remark about Edison.
• Science promoting skepticism (D) is not directly illustrated here, as the teacher is acknowledging previous work rather than questioning it.

Hence, the correct answer is (B) and (C).

Science is dynamic, expanding body of knowledge covering ever-new domains of experience. It is an organized system of knowledge that is based on inquiry born out of natural curiosity, logical reasoning, and experimentation. 

• It is this organized knowledge with an inquiry, logical reasoning, and experimentation as its central themes, that we call science. Science may rightly be said to be a domain of inquiry.  

Key Points

Nature of science:

• Science comes out from people and it can not be guaranteed if people are not biased, hence, it can not be surely said that scientists are totally objective in their work.
• There are several methods of conducting research namely action research, experimental research, survey research, etc.
• Science does not rely on belief, rather it is dependent on facts.
• Science is exploited by people, hence it is social in nature.
• One of the most important characteristics of science is that even the most established theories can be modified, or even abandoned if new experimental results do not fit into the existing theories.

Hence, the statement 'science is social in nature' best describes the nature of science.

Science as a discipline has its unique perspective. Science is not limited to observation, experimentation, and analysis only rather it is a way of life. Science is an expanding body of knowledge through the process of inquiry.

 Key Points

Nature of Science:

• Science is socially and culturally embedded.
• Science is inferential, imaginative, and creative. It is subjective and theory-laden.
• Science is empirical (based on or derived from developed observation of the natural world).
• Science is not merely a collection of evidence of happenings rather it attempts to understand happening through analysis, testing, and verification.

Important Points

• The value of science comes from its economical and political importance,  but science seeks the truth by observing important values: a scientist must be honest, modest, always critical, rejecting any dogmatism and any fraud,  but also creative, imaginative, and able to work collectively.
• The main values of science to be rigorous, rational, honest, critical, creative, etc. can explain how science aims as far as possible at the truth (even if the scientific knowledge is always under construction) but it is impossible to say that science is the only truth in our world.

Thus, it is concluded that Reality is the value of science for nature.

Science is derived from the Latin word ‘Scientia which means ‘to know. So, science is limited not only to observation, experimentation, and analysis but also to knowing ways of life. It should be noted that:

Key Points

• The Product of Science is obtained after processing methods of science which are to observe infer, measure, communicate, classify, predict, and use number-space-time relationships and integrated process skills (to control variables, define the operation, formulate a hypothesis, interpret data and, experiments are dealt with in detail).
• The basic components of knowledge that are gathered after applying the above process are fact (24 hours in a day), principle (Archimedes principle), theory or scientific law (Newton’s law), and, concept (speed is distance per unit of time).

Hence, we conclude that scientific laws are the product of science.

Science refers to the study of structure and behaviour of the physical and natural things through observation and experimentation. In other words, science is a classified knowledge gained from a systematic study of the behaviour of nature.

Nature of science:

• Science is always tentative.
• Science promotes scepticism.
• Science as an approach to investigation.
• Science is an interdisciplinary area of learning.
• Science is a particular way of looking at nature.
• Science is a process of constructing knowledge.
• Science demands perseverance from its practitioners

NOTE: Science is not static, but rather dynamic in nature because science is a field of new research and inventions.

Hence, it can be concluded that the statement 'science is static in nature is not true in the context of the question.

Science education is related to the environment of the students and prepares them for the world. It should promote concerns about the preservation of the environment among the students.

Key Points

Science Education as recommended by NCF-2005: NCF 2005 provides ample scope for the holistic development of the learners.

• It recommends various initiatives and approaches such as activity-based learning, experiential learning, collaborative learning, and so on.
• The relation between the ‘nature of science’ and technology help us in formulating the ‘vision of science education.
• According to NCF-2005, good science education is one that is true to the learner, true to life, true to the environment of the learner, and true to science.
  • True to Learner: It means that the science we teach should be understandable to the child and be able to engage the child in meaningful and joyful learning.
  • True to Life: The science we teach should relate to the environment of the child, prepare her for the world of work, and promote in her concerns for life and the preservation of the environment.
  • True to Science: It means the science we teach should convey significant aspects of science content at the appropriate level and engage the child in learning the processes of acquiring and validating scientific knowledge. 
• Science in general is used to explain the environmental phenomenon and physical world around us.
• Science is also equated to technology; technology employs the various principles of science.

Hence, from the above-mentioned points, it becomes clear that “good science education is true to life”, which means science should prepare the child for the world of work.

Science’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘scientia’ which means ‘knowing’. Before the 18th century, Science was referred as ‘natural philosophy. Science as a discipline has its unique perspective. Science is not limited to observation, experimentation, and analysis only; rather it is a way of life. Science is an expanding body of knowledge through the process of inquiry. 

Important Points

Scientific achievement stands on its history.

• The history of science is full of great achievements that have marked a turning point in the development of a branch of knowledge.
• History makes it evident that lots of scientific inventions were the results of persistent efforts of scientists and for some, it took their lifetime even.
• The history of science has begun with human existence i.e. homo sapiens have utilized basic knowledge of science for their existence while Palaeolithic’s tried to construct boats and houses apart from crude stone arms for hunting, which is recognised as a science activity.
• In the history of science, transitional periods (such as they move from the Newtonian framework to relativity and quantum mechanics) seem to provide an occasion for such cognitive repression.
• Despite decades having passed since the formulation and acceptance of theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, most physicists continue to display profound confusion about the implications of these theories.
• Historical value of science helps the learner to view science as a social enterprise and to understand how social factors influence the development of science.

Key Points

Aspects of Nature of Science

• Scientific knowledge is long-lasting yet tentative
• Empirical evidence is used to refine and support ideas in Science
• Social and historical factors play a role in the construction of scientific knowledge
• Laws and theories play a central role in developing scientific knowledge, yet they have different functions
• Accurate record-keeping, peer review, and replication of experiments help to validate scientific ideas
• Accurate record-keeping, peer review, and replication of experiments help to validate scientific ideas
• Science and Technology are not the same, but they have an impact on each other 

Additional Information

Domains of Science

Hence, we can conclude that scientific achievement stands on its history is a correct statement about science.

Scientists utilize the scientific method to investigate data, establish and test the hypothesis, build new ideas, and confirm or reject previous findings. Although the particular methods utilized in the various disciplines differ they all have some underlying qualities that might be referred to as aspects of the scientific process.

Key Points

• Empirical nature of science- It refers to the idea that science is founded on or generated from observations of the world around us, which are then interpreted. It is based on observed and measured phenomena and knowledge is derived from actual experiences rather than theory or belief.
  • It emphasizes that rather than relying exclusively on prior reasoning, intuition, or revelation, all hypotheses and theories must be evaluated against observations of the natural world.

Hence, it is clear from the above points that the teacher is highlighting the empirical nature of science above.

Additional Information

• Subjectivity in science- It is focused on a person's own thinking and perspectives. As a result, referring to observation as subjective frequently suggest that it contains personal prejudices.
• The tentativeness of science- It indicates that scientific conclusions can be modified or replaced when new evidence becomes available.

Science aims at enabling students to develop their communication skills to be able to understand scientific information, such as data, ideas, arguments, and investigations, and communicate it using appropriate scientific language in a variety of communication modes.

Analogy: It is a comparison of the similarities of two concepts. The more familiar concept is called the analog and the less familiar one the target. 

The analogies in science used in classrooms, textbooks, software programs, and Internet sites should be designed to promote elaboration, the cognitive process of constructing relations between what is already known, and what is new.

• In a constructivist learning framework, students learn progressions of increasingly sophisticated mental models of science concepts.
• Elaboration is essential to ensure that students’ science learning is meaningful rather than rote.

Steps of Analogy Strategy in Science: 

1. Introduce the target concept
2. Remind students of what they know of the analog concept
3. Identify relevant features of the concept
4. Connect (map) the similar features of the laws
5. Indicate where the analogy between the laws breaks down
6. Draw conclusions about the laws

Hence, from the above-mentioned points, it becomes clear that Map similarity is a step of analogy strategy in science.

• In other words, science is classified as knowledge gained from a systematic study of the behavior of nature.
• 'Learning' is a relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience with the environment.  

Key Points

• Science learning can be enriched by connecting the class with the real world, which helps to bring many subjects alive, stimulates the brain, and helps the learner to stay more active.
• Experience is the foundation and the stimulus for learning. Through it, learners actively construct their experiences.
• It promotes a deeper understanding of concepts and increases the rate of learning as learners gain knowledge by experiencing it.
• The teacher is a facilitator, as his role is to create such an atmosphere of learning where the children can themselves realize their true potential and make meaning of the knowledge.

Hint

• Periodic tests, lectures, explanations, and teaching aids are also tools to facilitate learning, but they don't make learning real and enlivening.

Hence, we can conclude that Science learning can be enriched if situations from the real world are brought into the class in which students interact with each other and the teacher facilitates.

Science is a process of learning. It is very different from other areas of study because “the way to learn Science is to do Science”. We can propose it as a subject, which always tests ideas with the help of evidence collected from the world around us.  Key Points

• Science does not explain supernatural myths rather it focuses on the natural world around us.
• Science is the body of knowledge and the process of constructing it and an integral part of our daily life.