First Homework Assignment!
Homework 8-27-08 DUE BY MONDAY AUGUST 31 2009
Read the introduction to your textbook, pages 2-11.
Choose ONE of the following questions and answer it thoroughly. This is your first homework, and with it you are making a first impression upon your teacher. Use your best written English to answer the question. Demonstrate your ability to communicate. Your grade will be based on your quality of expression; there is no “right” or “wrong” answer. Show me the best writing of which you are capable.YOUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE ADDED AS A COMMENT TO THIS BLOG.
1. It has been suggested that the universe may be 15 billion years old. The introduction of your textbook defines a light year as the distance traveled by light on one year. Light travels at about 3 x 10^5 kilometers (km) per second. Explain how this information could be used to predict that the universe must be smaller than 2 x 10^26 km across.
2. The Bible states in Joshua 10:12-13 that “…the sun stood still and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” (Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, 1984, International Bible Society, Colorado Springs, CO. Used by permission.) Is there any conflict between believing the biblical account of the sun stopping in the sky and the structure of our solar system as described in the introduction of your textbook?
Read the introduction to your textbook, pages 2-11.
Choose ONE of the following questions and answer it thoroughly. This is your first homework, and with it you are making a first impression upon your teacher. Use your best written English to answer the question. Demonstrate your ability to communicate. Your grade will be based on your quality of expression; there is no “right” or “wrong” answer. Show me the best writing of which you are capable.YOUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE ADDED AS A COMMENT TO THIS BLOG.
1. It has been suggested that the universe may be 15 billion years old. The introduction of your textbook defines a light year as the distance traveled by light on one year. Light travels at about 3 x 10^5 kilometers (km) per second. Explain how this information could be used to predict that the universe must be smaller than 2 x 10^26 km across.
2. The Bible states in Joshua 10:12-13 that “…the sun stood still and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” (Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, 1984, International Bible Society, Colorado Springs, CO. Used by permission.) Is there any conflict between believing the biblical account of the sun stopping in the sky and the structure of our solar system as described in the introduction of your textbook?
3. One reason that many people are interested in astronomy is the possibility that life exists beyond the earth. With particular reference to the description of the scientific method, what sort of evidence (not including actually meeting an alien!) do you feel would be required to make a strong claim that life probably exists elsewhere?
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The scientific method is the testing of different theories. Different scientists create their observations of the universe and the different possible contents in the universe. Because it is so difficult for scientists to study the universe, some facts cannot be proven wrong or right. It is thought by some scientists that life exists beyond Earth. Scientists, however, are not able to study the subjects directly, so the scientific method must come in. I feel that if scientists could study the universe more directly, they would be able to prove hypothesis wrong or right about different life forces on different planets. Scientists would have to come up with theories that are very particular to study life beyond Earth. Concrete evidence would also have to be provided to allow scientists to prove life on other planets. The scientific method, or testing of different theories, would be very important in the exploration of life on other planets.
-Katherine Wilson
There is definitely conflict between believing Joshua 10:12-13 and what the textbooks teach. It is very hard to believe especially in this day and age that God had the power to make the moon and the sun stand still because of a nation. I know that in the present we see nations dying of genocide and hunger, and no sun or moon stood still for them. Because of all of the information we have learned about the solar system, it may seem virtually impossible for this incident to have happened, but the bible also says that "faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." (Heb 11:1 KJV) I have learned through the reading that the earths moon has not changed much in the past 3 billion years and that is how we humans learn more about the universe. If it were to happen that the moon stood still it would throw off the whole balance of things like its orbit, its gravitational pull toward earth, etc. It may sound bizarre to us now because the solar system is defined in the textbook as "the Sun, planets, their moons, and other bodies that orbit the sun." and its safe to say that 'orbit' almost always refers to motion unless your talking about the chewing gum. I know that God is a great person and if He wants to stop the orbit of the sun and the moon he has that ability and the knowledge to do so.
- Morenikeji Omotoso
The Scientific Method is used to prove or disprove a particular theory. Scientists have been asking the question of whether life exists beyond earth for many years now. In order to answer this question through the utilization of the Scientific Method, there needs to be a great amount of evidence supporting the idea that life exists beyond Earth's atmosphere. There is no way that we can be certain that there is in fact life beyond our world until we come into some contact with it, on its own turf. It is important that scientists continue to launch expeditions headed by astronauts or robots. Until we have some sort of sample of a thriving, functioning organism that has lived off of the resources on its own planet, we cannot know anything.Following the steps of the Scientific Method, we must develop many different theories about the possibility of life elsewhere-- stating a hypothesis and prediction, collecting observations and evidence, conducting an analysis and then finally coming to a conclusion.
Eliza Brinkley.
Scientific Method is the testing of ideas to confirm or reject a scientific hypothesis. The scientific method is used in all areas of science but astronomers have a difficult time using it. To prove a hypothesis you must experiment with your hypothesis, and usually astronomers are dealing with things that they cannot test directly, and so they must prove their hypotheses by observing. Life comes in all shapes and sizes and so you would not have to meet an ‘alien’ to prove that there is life on other planets. There could be tiny organisms on other planets that can survive without oxygen and in harsh environments. This is why it is so important that we keep sending robots, and eventually humans, to other planets. But, most hypotheses, even when experiments confirm them, are not accepted by many people. Because of this, I think that to prove that intelligent life exists outside of Earth you would have to have a sample of the species brought back to Earth.
-Mary Adkins
In order to prove or deny theories, the scientific method is used in all areas of science. In relation to astronomy, this method is often used in order to prove that life does or does not exist on somewhere other than the planet Earth. If scientists could prove that life exists elsewhere, strict evidence would be required. I believe that the only way to discover if there is truly some form of life outside of Earth is to have physical evidence. I do not think that as humans, we will ever know if there is another form of life unless we physically come into contact with it ourselves. However, if proven through a theory, it would have to be tested in and out and 100% positively clear in order for everybody to believe it. Although all theories proving that alien life exists somewhere else have been proven wrong, scientists are still trying to come up with new ways to prove that there is some form of life out there that we do not know of.
The conflicts between the biblical passage and what the textbook teaches are greater than the similarities. In biblical times, astronomy was not a subject most people knew much about.
In addition to this, people believed in a geocentric universe for centuries, which is evident in this passage. Geocentricism is the belief that all planets and objects in space revolve around the Earth. It is now known, as stated in the textbook, that Earth and the other planets of the solar system revolve around the sun. This is a constant movement that is not affected by human actions on Earth as described in the Bible. The only feasible explanation for this "24 hour day" would have to involve Joshua being located somewhere in the Arctic Circle, which obviously did not happen.
The scientific method is the process used to find truths which consists of accessing unknown unknowledge or further extending the knowledge already known. Outer space is made up of many mysteries that everyone is trying to crack and understand. The biggest question is the one always asked and explored, "was there ore is there life in any other planet than earth?" To prove that question the scientific method plays a huge role. There must be significant amounts of measurable and sufficent data along with a phenomenal physical piece of evidence(s). These pieces of evidence or data must be pieces that so closely match Earth's reasons for capablility of life that the other planet is nearly identical. Just as in court of law, there must be evidence to back and prove a theory or accuasation and that very well goes the same for the theory of life in outer space on other planets. The evidence and data must be nearly 100% accurate and present.
-Whitney Currin
There is definatly a problem with Joshua 10:12-13 from the Bible and the scientific data we have today. Science disallows this encounter to take place because it is not possible. If the sun suddenly stopped moving and was stuck in the sky the orbit of every planet would be thrown off. The Earth’s day would stop and freeze. The day would be longer than twenty-four hours due to the extra time taken for the sun to continue its rotation. This is not possible because if this were to happen the rotation and orbit of the surrounding planets would not be able to recover. The Bible may have more of an a descritive understanding using symbolization of Christ as the Sun, because otherwise this is not possible
Many scientist propose ideas and give hypothesis to be tested about properties of the universe, which is part of the scientific method. Many tests are hard to prove because of the lack of first hand experimentation, but scientists still try the experiment to either confirm or refute the theory brought to them. With no guarantee to the answers that the get, there is also no guarantee that people believe what you are telling them. So scientists would have to be able to know that the all the details of what they were telling you were true,and show people what they've found before they could convince everyone to believe
The conflict between Joshua 10:12-13 and what is taught in the textbook is very evident. Scientifically there is no possible way that the sun and moon could stop in the sky without knocking the entire solar system out of sync. This completely contradicts the ways of the universe and the laws of gravity. However, as a Christian I believe that the Lord is capable of working miracles.
The Bible has been an influential document for centuries upon centuries. It has served as the primary foundation for the lives of millions and it is oftentimes the principal factor in decisions that are made. Countless Christians and Jews (with the Old Testament) have taken every word of the Bible literally as if it were an encyclopedia rather than a spiritual text. While this is not necessarily a wrong way to view the Bible, passages such as Joshua 10:12-13 must be taken into consideration. Joshua 10:12-13 states that the sun and the moon stopped in the sky and the sun shone for an entire day. The theories that astronomers have proved completely contradict this passage. While the theory that all objects in the sky revolve around the Earth (Geocentricism) could possibly prove this Bible passage correct since that would mean the Earth could be in charge of the motion of the Solar System, it has been proven that the planets in the Solar System revolve around the Sun. Yet, God appears to be a rather powerful being so anything could be possible, but it is exceedingly unlikely.
The scientific method is responsible for testing different theories and methods. There are a lot of differences between what the bible says in Joshua 10:12-13 and what the textbook states. Our space is made up of many things we do not know of. In order to complete the scientific method, you need to have an experiment to test, but without physical evidence it is very hard to conduct a experiment. As humans, i think we should have physical evidence to prove if life really does exist somewhere else.
3. To prove that life exists in places other than earth, there would have to be solid evidence, such as actual living matter from another planet. Because, to our knowledge (and in our perspective), the universe is so vast, it's almost impossible to know there isn't life out there, but at the same time it seems just as impossible to know there is. Even if evidence were found, it wouldn't mean people would automatically believe it. Like the textbook said, people refused to believe Aristotle when he hypothesized and provided proof that the earth was round. In the same way, I think there would always be opposition to other life forms, since we as a planet have always lived alone.
There is definitely conflict between Joshua 10:12-13, and the first chapter of our astronomy book. In Joshua it states that the sun stood still for a whole day. If this actually happened then the whole solar system would be out of order. The planets would bump around, orbits would be thrown off, and we on earth would probably all be dead or in panic. Information that we have now about the planets and the universe for that matter, completely discredit this story from the bible.
- Caroline Dickson(joined 9/1/09)
To actually believe that life exist in other places other than the earth is to have real evidence. I really want to believe that we are not only the only creatures in the universe. In order to prove me or everyone else that there is life in other places other than earth is to have evidence that could show us or lead to another clue. The universe is so vast, that it does not occur to people to think outside of the earth about life. But I always wonder if there really is. Once someone gets proof that there is life in other places other than earth, then people are going to believe in an instance because that is how our minds work.
The Scientific Method is a method that most scientist use to test things. In this process there is usually a hypothesis, a theory, a prediction, and an experiment. When talking about the scientific method the text book states that application of the scientific method does not grantee that the evidence found is believed. For scientist to make the idea that there is live beyond the universe, they would have to set up the scientific method creating a hypothesis, theory, predication, experiment, and conclusion. once all steps are done, during the experimental portion of the Scientific method concrete evidence would have to be found to support and make the idea that there is life beyond the universe a believable statement .
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