1.2. The Scientific Method http://www.ck12.org
rigorous scientific process. Two individuals who personified the Renaissance approach to science are Leonardo da
Vinci and Nicolaus Copernicus. Many credit da Vinci with being the father of modern science. He is renowned
for his observations and drawings of human anatomy (Figure1.7). He also set up controlled experiments to
investigate water flow, medical dissection, and the systematic study of movement and aerodynamics. Copernicus
was an astronomer who suggested, based on observations, a heliocentric model of the solar system, meaning that
Earth and other planets traveled around the Sun. The prevailing doctrine had been that Earth was the center of the
Universe and that all celestial bodies must travel around it.
FIGURE 1.
Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance
artist and scientist who made great ad-
vancements in the field of anatomy. (left)
The famous Vitruvian Man drawing; (right)
A document showing the anatomy of the
human arm.More than any one particular piece of knowledge, the Renaissance represented a change in the way human beings
thought about the world around them. Emphasis shifted from a philosophical explanation of the world’s natural
processes to one that was instead based on observation and experimentation. The process of scientific discovery that
we now call the scientific method originated during the Renaissance. This new method led to great advancements in
the fields of astronomy, physics, anatomy, biology, and chemistry.
The Scientific Method
Thescientific methodis a systematic and logical approach to the acquisition of knowledge(Figure1.8). It uses
specific techniques to observe and investigate natural phenomena. The scientific method differs from other methods
of inquiry in that scientists seek to let reality speak for itself rather than approaching inquiry with any preconceived
biases toward one explanation or another. The steps of the scientific method are: (1) formulating a question, (2)
making a hypothesis, (3) testing the hypothesis through experimentation, (4) analyzing results, and (5) developing
theories or revising the hypothesis.
Formulating a Question
The formulation of a question represents the first step in scientific inquiry. The type of question can be very specific
or more general. Questions are often based on observations. For example, suppose that you observe that a lamp does
not light up when you turn on the switch. The natural question is to ask why the lamp does not work. This in turn
would lead to an investigation of the possible reasons why the lamp is not working. However, the process begins
with a question that needs to be answered.