EPS SCI 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Oviraptor, Protoceratops, Gobi Desert
29 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lec 2: Science
April 5
CASE STUDY: WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOUR “FACTS”?
● Research in the Gobi Desert (in Mongolia) in the 1920s
○ led to discovery of the Protoceratops
zone - a region
with lots of early ceratopsians
● oviraptor
= theropod with unusual morphology (found in an
area with many Protoceratops
nests)
○ had no teeth → thought to steal eggs (“egg thief”)
○ images / views of the dinosaur have changed over time
■ new evidence (eggs contained developing oviraptor skeletons) emerged
that they protect their own eggs
● If ideas are constantly changing over time, how do scientists know what’s true?
○ GOALS:
■ understand the strengths & limitations of science
■ describe how scientific principles can be applied to dinosaur research
■ discover how to be scientifically literate
● things will be taught as if they are the truth, but in actuality they are hypotheses,
theories, paradigms, and laws
○ (ex. law of gravity, theory of evolution)
○ science is constantly evolving as new research & observations occur
BACKGROUND ON SCIENCE
● facts (a.k.a. observations)
: the raw data (include objects, measurements, images)
○mass spectrometer
: uses heat and pressure to determine components &
chemicals that make up the material
■ not theoretical, but rather objective fact
● hypothesis
: a proposed explanation for a series of facts, based on limited evidence
(serves as a starting point for further research)
● theories & laws
: well-substantiated explanation, based on repeated confirmation
through observation and experiment
○ always at risk of being replaced by more inclusive, more sophisticated description
of nature → can be falsified
○ Example
:
■Newton’s theory of gravitation (1687)
● bodies attract at inverse square of distance
● gravity is a force
● based on successful predictions → used to predict the existence
of Neptune, based on the motions of Uranus
○ had some issues as well
■ Einstein’s theory of general relativity (1916)
Document Summary
Research in the gobi desert (in mongolia) in the 1920s. Led to discovery of the protoceratops zone - a region. Oviraptor = theropod with unusual morphology (found in an with lots of early ceratopsians area with many protoceratops nests) Had no teeth thought to steal eggs ( egg thief ) Images / views of the dinosaur have changed over time. New evidence (eggs contained developing oviraptor skeletons) emerged that they protect their own eggs. Understand the strengths & limitations of science. Describe how scientific principles can be applied to dinosaur research. Things will be taught as if they are the truth, but in actuality they are hypotheses, theories, paradigms, and laws. (ex. law of gravity, theory of evolution) Science is constantly evolving as new research & observations occur. Facts (a. k. a. observations) : the raw data (include objects, measurements, images) Mass spectrometer : uses heat and pressure to determine components & chemicals that make up the material.
