Chapter 1: Learning about Life mon Thread Connection: A scientist at the Univers

Question

Chapter 1: Learning about Life mon Thread Connection: A scientist at the University of Iowa uses a microscope to observe cells in the brain known as microglia. He makes observations about their structure, location, and activity. The scientist ntually observes the cells undergo a sudden and radical shift in their structure/shape and their motility (ability to move). He asks himself questions about what is causing this shift in behaviors and begins to design an experiment to determine the answer. Briefly describe how the scientist practiced both the exploration and testing aspects of scientific inquiry.

Explanation / Answer

Scientific inquiry can be defined as a process by which we can understand and expand our current knowledge. It comprises of drawing a hypothesis/ knowing the current statement, organizing materials and methods, conducting the experiment, analyzing the data obtained and presenting unbiased results. It is extremely important that one performs each of these steps diligently as skipping even one can change the expected results.

The scientist in this scenario was observing microglia. He noted down their structure, activity and location. This is exploration i.e. he is using the available resources to expand his knowledge of a particular topic.

He then observes that they are rapidly shifting. This makes him question this process. This might be a previously known fact which he just observed or something which was entirely new to him. To know more about this, or rather, to answer this particular query, he decides to set up an experiment. This fits into the testing aspect of scientific inquiry because he is setting up materials and will methodically determine the cause of this movement.

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