Science and Technology

Science and Technology

What Are Science and Technology?

Science is a form of knowledge that seeks to describe and explain the natural and physical world and its place in the universe. Occasionally, the fundamental theories, concepts, and structures of science change but, for the most part, the basic ideas of science – ideas such as the cellular basis of life, the laws of energy, the particle theory of matter – have proven stable. The curriculum outlined in this document will introduce students to many of these basic ideas.

For example, in Grade 7 students are expected to compare the motion of particles in a solid, liquid, and gas using the particle theory. Technology includes much more than the knowledge and skills related to computers and their applications. Technology is both a form of knowledge that uses concepts and skills from other disciplines (including science) and the application of this knowledge to meet an identifiedneed or solve a specific problem using materials, energy, and tools (including computers). The method of technology consists of inventing or modifying devices, structures, systems, or processes. one form of energy into another.

Science is not only a body of knowledge but “a way of knowing”. Scientific investigation

involves exploration, experimentation, observation and measurement, and analysis and dissemi-

nation of data. These activities require specific skills and habits of mind; for example, accuracy,

discipline, and integrity in the application of scientific principles are fundamental to scientific

activity. The science and technology curriculum is designed to develop these skills and habits

of mind. In Grade 4, for example, students are expected to describe, using their own observa-

tions, the behaviour of light and identify some of the basic characteristics of light.

Technology is also “a way of knowing” and a process of exploration and experimentation....