Set Theory

Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics. The language of set theory can be used in the definitions of nearly all mathematical objects. The modern study of set theory was initiated by Georg Cantor and Richard Dedekind in the 1870s. After the discovery of paradoxes in naive set theory, numerous axiom systems were proposed in the early twentieth century, of which the ZermeloFraenkel axioms, with the axiom of choice, are the best-known. Concepts of set theory are integrated throughout the mathematics curriculum in the United States. Elementary facts about sets and set membership are often taught in primary school, along with Venn diagrams, Euler diagrams, and elementary operations such as set union and intersection. Slightly more advanced concepts such as cardinality are a standard part of the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. Set theory is commonly employed as a foundational system for mathematics, particularly in the form of ZermeloFraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice. Beyond its foundational role, set theory is a branch of mathematics in its own right, with an active research community. Contemporary research into set theory includes a diverse collection of topics, ranging from the structure of the real number line to the study of the consistency of large cardinals. A set is a collection of distinct objects, considered as an object in its own right. Sets are one of the most fundamental concepts in mathematics. Developed at the end of the 19th century, set theory is now a ubiquitous part of mathematics, and can be used as a foundation from which nearly all of mathematics can be derived. In mathematics education, elementary topics such as Venn diagrams are taught at a young age, while more advanced concepts are taught as part of a university degree.

What is a set? Well, simply put, it's a collection. First you specify a common property among "things" (this word will be defined later) and then you gather up all the "things" that have this common property.

For example, the items you wear: these would include shoes, socks, hat, shirt, pants, and so on. I'm sure you could come up with at least a hundred. This is known as a set.

Or another example would be types of fingers. This set would include index, middle, ring, and pinky.

So it is just things grouped together with a certain property in common.

Notation
There is a fairly simple notation for sets. You simply list each element, separated by a comma, and then put some curly brackets around the whole thing.

The curly brackets { } are sometimes called "set brackets" or "braces". This is the notation for the two previous examples: {socks, shoes, watches, shirts, ...} {index, middle, ring, pinky} Notice how the first example has the "..." (three dots together). The three dots ... are called an ellipsis, and mean "continue on". So that means the first example continues on ... for infinity. (OK, there isn't really an infinite amount of things you could wear, but I'm not entirely sure about that! After an hour of thinking of different things, I'm still not sure. So let's just say it is infinite for this example.) So:

The first set {socks, shoes, watches, shirts, ...} we call an infinite set, the second set {index, middle, ring, pinky} we call a finite set.

But sometimes the "..." can be used in the middle to save writing long lists: Example: the set of letters: {a, b, c, ..., x, y, z} In this case it is a finite set (there are only 26 letters, right?)

Numerical Sets
So what does this have to do with mathematics? When we define a set, all we have to specify is a common characteristic. Who says we can't do so with numbers?
Set of even numbers: {..., -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, ...} Set of odd numbers: {..., -3, -1, 1, 3, ...}

Set of prime numbers: {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, ...} Positive multiples of 3 that are less than 10: {3, 6, 9}

And the list goes on. We can come up with all different types of sets. There can also be sets of numbers that have no common property, they are just defined that way. For example:
{2, 3, 6, 828, 3839, 8827} {4, 5, 6, 10, 21} {2, 949, 48282, 42882959, 119484203}

Are all sets that I just randomly banged on my keyboard to produce.

Why are Sets Important?

Sets are the fundamental property of mathematics. Now as a word of warning, sets, by themselves, seem pretty pointless. But it's only when you apply sets in different situations do they become the powerful building block of mathematics that they are. Math can get amazingly complicated quite fast. Graph Theory, Abstract Algebra, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Linear Algebra, Number Theory, and the list goes on. But there is one thing that all of these share in common: Sets.

Universal Set
At the start we used the word "things" in quotes. We call this the universal set. It's a set that contains everything. Well, not exactly everything. Everything that is relevant to the problem you have. So far, all I've been giving you in sets are integers. So the universal set for all of this discussion could be said to be integers. In fact, when doing Number Theory, this is almost always what the universal set is, as Number Theory is simply the study of integers. However in Calculus (also known as real analysis), the universal set is almost always the real numbers. And in complex analysis, you guessed it, the universal set is the complex numbers.

Some More Notation

When talking about sets, it is fairly standard to use Capital Letters to represent the set, and lowercase letters to represent an element in that set. So for example, A is a set, and a is an element in A. Same with B and b, and C and c.

Now you don't have to listen to the standard, you can use something like m to represent a set without breaking any mathematical laws (watch out, you can get years in math jail for dividing by 0), but this notation is pretty nice and easy to follow, so why not? Also, when we say an element a is in a set A, we use the symbol And if something is not in a set use . Example: Set A is {1,2,3}. You can see that 1 A, but 5 A to show it.

Equality
Two sets are equal if they have precisely the same members. Now, at first glance they may not seem equal, you may have to examine them closely! Example: Are A and B equal where:

A is the set whose members are the first four positive whole numbers B = {4, 2, 1, 3}

Let's check. They both contain 1. They both contain 2. And 3, And 4. And we have checked every element of both sets, so: Yes, they are! And the equals sign (=) is used to show equality, so you would write: A=B

Subsets
When we define a set, if we take pieces of that set, we can form what is called a subset. So for example, we have the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. A subset of this is {1, 2, 3}. Another subset is {3, 4} or even another, {1}. However, {1, 6} is not a subset, since it contains an element (6) which is not in the parent set. In general: A is a subset of B if and only if every element of A is in B. So let's use this definition in some examples.
Is A a subset of B, where A = {1, 3, 4} and B = {1, 4, 3, 2}?

1 is in A, and 1 is in B as well. So far so good. 3 is in A and 3 is also in B. 4 is in A, and 4 is in B. That's all the elements of A, and every single one is in B, so we're done. Yes, A is a subset of B

Note that 2 is in B, but 2 is not in A. But remember, that doesn't matter, we only look at the elements in A. Let's try a harder example.
Example: Let A be all multiples of 4 and B be all multiples of 2. Is A a subset of B? And is B a subset of A?

Well, we can't check every element in these sets, because they have an infinite number of elements. So we need to get an idea of what the elements look like in each, and then compare them. The sets are:

A = {..., -8, -4, 0, 4, 8, ...} B = {..., -8, -6, -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, ...}

By pairing off members of the two sets, we can see that every member of A is also a member of B, but every member of B is not a member of A:

So: A is a subset of B, but B is not a subset of A

Proper Subsets
If we look at the defintion of subsets and let our mind wander a bit, we come to a weird conclusion. Let A be a set. Is every element in A an element in A? (Yes, I wrote that correctly.) Well, umm, yes of course, right? So wouldn't that mean that A is a subset of A? This doesn't seem very proper, does it? We want our subsets to be proper. So we introduce (what else but) proper subsets. A is a proper subset of B if and only if every element in A is also in B, and there exists at least one element in B that is not in A. This little piece at the end is only there to make sure that A is not a proper subset of itself. Otherwise, a proper subset is exactly the same as a normal subset.
Example:

{1, 2, 3} is a subset of {1, 2, 3}, but is not a proper subset of {1, 2, 3}.

Example:

{1, 2, 3} is a proper subset of {1, 2, 3, 4} because the element 4 is not in the first set. You should notice that if A is a proper subset of B, then it is also a subset of B.

Even More Notation

When we say that A is a subset of B, we write A Or we can say that A is not a subset of B by A B. B ("A is not a subset of B") B or if we

When we talk about proper subsets, we take out the line underneath and so it becomes A want to say the opposite, A B.

Empty (or Null) Set

This is probably the weirdest thing about sets.

As an example, think of the set of piano keys on a guitar. "But wait!" you say, "There are no piano keys on a guitar!" And right you are. It is a set with no elements. This is known as the Empty Set (or Null Set).There aren't any elements in it. Not one. Zero. It is represented by Or by {} (a set with no elements) Some other examples of the empty set are the set of countries south of the south pole. So what's so weird about the empty set? Well, that part comes next.

Empty Set and Subsets

So let's go back to our definition of subsets. We have a set A. We won't define it any more than that, it could be any set. Is the empty set a subset of A?

Going back to our definition of subsets, if every element in the empty set is also in A, then the empty set is a subset of A. But what if we have no elements? It takes an introduction to logic to understand this, but this statement is one that is "vacuously" or "trivially" true. A good way to think about it is: we can't find any elements in the empty set that aren't in A, so it must be that all elements in the empty set are in A. So the answer to the posed question is a resounding yes. The empty set is a subset of every set, including the empty set itself.

Order
No, not the order of the elements. In sets it does not matter what order the elements are in. Example: {1,2,3,4) is the same set as {3,1,4,2} When we say "order" in sets we mean the size of the set. Just as there are finite and infinite sets, each has finite and infinite order. For finite sets, we represent the order by a number, the number of elements. Example, {10, 20, 30, 40} has an order of 4. For infinite sets, all we can say is that the order is infinite. Oddly enough, we can say with sets that some infinities are larger than others, but this is a more advanced topic in sets.

Set Operations
Subjects to be Learned

union of sets intersection of sets difference of sets complement of set ordered pair, ordered n-tuple equality of ordered n-tuples Cartesian product of sets

Contents Sets can be combined in a number of different ways to produce another set. Here four basic operations are introduced and their properties are discussed. Definition (Union): The union of sets A and B, denoted by A A B={x|x A x B} B , is the set defined as

Example 1: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} , then A

B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} . B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} .

Example 2: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5} , then A Note that elements are not repeated in a set.

Definition (Intersection): The intersection of sets A and B, denoted by A A B={x|x A x B} B = {1, 2} .

B , is the set defined as

Example 3: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5} , then A

Example 4: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} , then A

B=

Definition (Difference): The difference of sets A from B , denoted by A - B , is the set defined as A-B={x|x A x B}

Example 5: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5} , then A - B = {3} . Example 6: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} , then A - B = {1, 2, 3} . Note that in general A - B B-A

Definition (Complement): For a set A, the difference U - A , where U is the universe, is called the complement of A and it is denoted by Thus . is the set of everything that is not in A.

The fourth set operation is the Cartesian product We first define an ordered pair and Cartesian product of two sets using it. Then the Cartesian product of multiple sets is defined using the concept of n-tuple. Definition (ordered pair): An ordered pair is a pair of objects with an order associated with them. If objects are represented by x and y, then we write the ordered pair as <x, y>. Two ordered pairs <a, b> and <c, d> are equal if and only if a = c and b = d. For example the ordered pair <1, 2> is not equal to the ordered pair <2, 1>. Definition (Cartesian product): The set of all ordered pairs <a, b>, where a is an element of A and b is an element of B, is called the Cartesian product of A and B and is denoted by A B. Example 1: Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b}. Then A B = {<1, a>, <1, b>, <2, a>, <2, b>, <3, a>, <3, b>} .

Example 2: For the same A and B as in Example 1, B A = {<a, 1>, <a, 2>, <a, 3>, <b, 1>, <b, 2>, <b, 3>} .

As you can see in these examples, in general, A Note that A = A=

A unless A =

,B=

or A = B.

because there is no element in

to form ordered pairs with elements of A.

The concept of Cartesian product can be extended to that of more than two sets. First we are going to define the concept of ordered n-tuple.

Definition (ordered n-tuple): An ordered n-tuple is a set of n objects with an order associated with them (rigorous definition to be filled in). If n objects are represented by x1, x2, ..., xn, then we write the ordered ntuple as <x1, x2, ..., xn> . Definition (Cartesian product): Let A1, ..., An be n sets. Then the set of all ordered n-tuples <x1, ..., xn> , where xi An . Ai for all i, 1 i n , is called the Cartesian product of A1, ..., An, and is denoted by A1 ...

Example 3: Let A = {1, 2}, B = {a, b} and C = {5, 6}. Then A B C = {<1, a, 5>, <1, a, 6>, <1, b, 5>, <1, b, 6>, <2, a, 5>, <2, a, 6>, <2, b, 5>, <2, b, 6>} .

Definition (equality of n-tuples): Two ordered n-tuples <x1, ..., xn> and <y1, ..., yn> are equal if and only if xi = yi for all i, 1 i n . For example the ordered 3-tuple <1, 2, 3> is not equal to the ordered n-tuple <2, 3, 1>.

Applications of Set Theory

Set theory and its basic foundations were developed by George Cantor, a mathematician from Germany, toward the end of the 19th century. Set theory revolves around understanding the properties of sets that are unrelated to the specific elements of which they are composed. Therefore, both the theorems and axioms involved in set theory relate to all general sets, regardless of whether the sets are physical objects or numbers. There are many practical applications of set theory.

1. Function
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From formulating logical foundations for geometry, calculus and topology to creating algebra revolving around fields, rings and groups, applications of set theory are most commonly utilized in science and mathematics fields like biology, chemistry and physics, as well as in computer and electrical engineering.

Mathematics
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Since set theory is abstract in nature, it has vital functions and applications in the mathematics field. One branch of set theory is called "analysis." In analysis, integral and differential calculus are major components. Continuity of function and limit points understanding are both derived

from set theory. These operations lead to boolean algebra, which is helpful for the production of personal computers and calculators.

Generalized Set Theory

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Generalized set theory is axiomatic set theory, and its easiest modification allows for atoms without internal structures. Sets have sets as elements, and they also have atoms as elements. Generalized set theory allows for ordered pairs---allowing non-sets that have internal structures.

Hyperset Theory
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Hyperset theory is axiomatic set theory that is modified by eliminating the Axiom of Foundation and adding arrays of possible atoms that reinforce the existence of sets that are not well established. The axiom does not have a large role in the coding of any objects for mathematics. These sets are helpful in allowing easy ways to code both non-well founded and circular objects.

Constructive Set Theory

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Constructive Set Theory substitutes classical logic with intuitionistic logic. In axiomatic set theory, if the non-logical axioms are precisely formulated, the set theory application is known as Intuitionistic Set Theory. This set theory functions as a set theoretical method for tackling constructive mathematics fields.

History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world. Until the late 20th century the history of science, especially of the physical and biological sciences, was seen as a narrative celebrating the triumph of true theories over false. Science was portrayed as a major dimension of the progress of civilization. In recent decades, postmodern views, especially influenced by Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), the history is seen in terms of competing paradigms or conceptual systems battling for intellectual supremacy in a wider matrix that includes intellectual, cultural, economic and political themes outside pure science. New attention is paid to science outside the context of Western Europe. Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by researchers making use of scientific methods, which emphasize the observation, explanation, and prediction of real world phenomena by experiment. Given the dual status of science as objective knowledge and as a human construct, good historiography of science draws on the historical methods of both intellectual history and social history. Tracing the exact origins of modern science is possible through the many important texts which have survived from the classical world. However, the word scientist is relatively recentfirst coined by William Whewell in the 19th century. Previously, people investigating nature called themselves natural philosophers. While empirical investigations of the natural world have been described since classical antiquity (for example, by Thales, Aristotle, and others), and scientific methods have been employed since the Middle Ages (for example, by Ibn alHaytham, Ab Rayhn al-Brn and Roger Bacon), the dawn of modern science is generally traced back to the early modern period, during what is known as the Scientific Revolution that took place in 16th and 17th century Europe. Scientific methods are considered to be so fundamental to modern science that some especially philosophers of science and practicing scientists consider earlier inquiries into nature to be pre-scientific. Traditionally, historians of science have defined science sufficiently broadly to include those inquiries.

Sumerian Science
The Sumerians are perhaps remembered most for their many inventions. Many authorities credit them with the invention of the wheel and the potter's wheel. Their cuneiform writing system was the first we have evidence of (with the possible exception of the highly controversial Old European Script), pre-dating Egyptian hieroglyphics by at least seventy five years. They were among the first formal astronomers. They came up with the concept of dividing the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds. They may have invented military formations. Perhaps most importantly, the Sumerians ushered in the age of intensive agriculturalism in Ancient Mesopotamia. Einkorn and Emmer wheat, barley, sheep (starting as mouflon) and cattle (starting as aurochs) were foremost among the species cultivated and raised for the first time on a grand scale. These inventions and innovations easily place the Sumerians among the most creative cultures in human pre-history and history. Sumerian scientific achievements were important to the modern world. The Sumerians had three main types of boats:
- skin boats comprised reeds and animal skins

- sailboats featured bitumen waterproofing - wooden-oared ships, sometimes pulled upstream by people and animals walking along the nearby banks. Other examples of Sumerian technology include - tools and weapons: saws, chisels, hammers, braces, bits, nails, pins, rings, hoes, axes, knives, lancepoints, arrowheads, swords, glue, daggers, armor - waterskins -bags - harnesses - harpoons - quivers - scabbards - beer brewing - wheel (ca. 3700 BC)

- math system based on the numeral 60 which was the basis of time in modern world - the earliest concepts in algebra and geometry were formulated - system of weights and measures were developed which served the ancient world until the Roman period - boots and sandals (footwear) - evidence exists for the use of leather by the ancient Sumerians as far back as 6000 BC. Preserved specimens of leather dating to 5000 BC have been found. Egyptian stone carvings of about the same date show leather workers. Egyptian leather sandals more than 3,300 years old and an Egyptian queen's funeral tent of gazelle hides made in 1100 BC are in museums. - Many of the constellations were mapped by the Sumerians - Sumerians developed a complex system of sewers and flush toilets to rid cities of waste and unhealthy affects of swamps. - Bronze metal - Ziggurats

Egyptian Science
Egyptian scientists were generally most interested in observing nature and practical engineering, and they were very good at both of these things. The pyramids and temples, for example, show good knowledge of geometry and engineering. Egyptian engineers used the Pythagorean theorem, thousands of years before Pythagoras was born. Because the Nile flood was so important to Egyptian farming, scientists also worked out good ways to measure how high the flood was going each year, and kept accurate records and good calendars. You can see here how the Egyptian wrote down numbers. The device they used to measure the height of the Nile flood is called a Nilometer (ny-LA-muh-terr). They also worked out good ways to move water from the Nile to outlying farms in the desert, using hand-powered irrigation pumps (shadufs) and canals.

Arabian Science
Starting around 750 AD, science flourished under the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad, gradually spreading its influence as far west as Spain and eastwards into Central Asia, over a period of more than 600 years. By drawing on a variety of texts - Greek, Indian and Persian - and translating them into Arabic, the early scholars accumulated the greatest body of scientific knowledge in the world and built on it through their own discoveries. Often, there was a practical Islamic relevance. Astronomy could be used to work out the direction of prayer. Mathematics was needed for dividing property according to the Islamic law of inheritance. Although science flourished under Arab-Islamic patronage, by no means all the important figures in science were Muslims, or even Arabs. The common factor, however, was the Arabic language, which for a time became the international language of science. It was only later, in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the Arabic works began to be translated into Latin, that such knowledge passed to the west. Science in medieval Islam, also known as Islamic science or Arabic science, is the science developed in the Islamic world during the Islamic Golden Age between the 7th and 15th centuries. During this time, Indian, Iranian and especially Greek knowledge was translated into Arabic. These translations became a wellspring for scientific advances, by scientists from the Islamic civilization, during the Middle Ages.[1]

Scientists within the Islamic civilization were of diverse ethnicities. A great portion were Persians[2][3] and Arabs,[3] in addition to Berbers, Moors and Turks. They were also from diverse religious backgrounds. Most were Muslims,[4][5][6] but there were also many Christians and Jews,[7][8] as well as Sabians, Zoroastrians and the irreligious.[9][10]

Renaissance Science
During the Renaissance, great advances occurred in geography, astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, manufacturing, and engineering. The rediscovery of ancient scientific texts was accelerated after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the invention of printing which would democratize learning and allow a faster propagation of new ideas. But, at least in its initial period, some see the Renaissance as one of scientific backwardness. Historians like George Sarton and Lynn Thorndike have criticized how the Renaissance affected science, arguing that progress was slowed for some amount of time. Humanists favored human-centered subjects like politics and history over study of natural philosophy or applied mathematics. Others have focused on the positive influence of the Renaissance, pointing to factors like the rediscovery of lost or obscure texts and the increased emphasis on the study of language and the correct reading of texts. Marie Boas Hall coined the term Scientific Renaissance to designate the early phase of the Scientific Revolution. More recently, Peter Dear has argued for a two-phase model of early modern science: a Scientific Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries, focused on the restoration of the natural knowledge of the ancients; and a Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, when scientists shifted from recovery to innovation.

Science and History in Asia

In 2008 the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) granted IIAS and the Needham Research Institute (NRI), Cambridge funding for five comparative workshops on the complex links between science and history in Asian civilisations. Science is often described or imagined as Western, having originated in ancient Greece with the Arabs acting as translators. It is a prejudice of long standing and derives from an outdated picture of the history of science. The history of pre-modern ancient and medieval science can only be adequately understood if the Eurasian continent is treated as an undivided unit. This project will address questions including, how have Asians used disciplines such as astronomy, now categorised as sciences, for a better understanding of their own past? How did these disciplines gain cultural legitimacy? And how can the sciences be incorporated into the historical narratives of Asian civilisations? These questions will play a role during the workshops, which are organised around topics, such as logic, chronology, genealogies of science, and the role of the state in the historical dynamics of science. The complex links between science and history in Asian civlisations will be studied on at least two levels. First, one can focus on the ways in which the actors have perceived those links; how on the one hand they have used disciplines that we now categorise as sciences, such as astronomy, for a better understanding of their own past; how on the other hand they have constructed the historicity of these disciplines, thus giving them cultural legitimacy.

Secondly, one can reflect on historiographical issues related to the sciences. How can the sciences be incorporated into historical narratives of Asian civilisations? This question is crucial, given that the dominant view in the nineteenth and twentieth century has been that science is a European invention, and that it has somehow failed to develop endogenously in Asia, where "traditional science" is usually taken as opposed to "Western" or "modern science".

One possible approach to the issue is to look at how various states have contributed to creation, circulation and change in knowledge and practice pertaining to the sciences. Another issue worth exploring is comparing the ways in which the transmission of scientific knowledge and practice across time (tradition) and that across space (from other civilisations of Asia or from Europe) are studied, and how one can progress towards a greater symmetry in the approach of these two types of transmission.

The main academic activity of this project will consist of a series of four workshops under the following titles:

Scientific Method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.[1] To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.[2] The Oxford English Dictionary says that scientific method is: "a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses." [3] Although procedures vary from one field of inquiry to another, identifiable features distinguish scientific inquiry from other methods of obtaining knowledge. Scientific researchers propose hypotheses as explanations of phenomena, and design experimental studies to test these hypotheses via predictions which can be derived from them. These steps must be repeatable, to guard against mistake or confusion in any particular experimenter. Theories that encompass wider domains of inquiry may bind many independently derived hypotheses together in a coherent, supportive structure. Theories, in turn, may help form new hypotheses or place groups of hypotheses into context. Scientific inquiry is generally intended to be as objective as possible, to reduce biased interpretations of results. Another basic expectation is to document, archive and share all data and methodology so they are available for careful scrutiny by other scientists, giving them the opportunity to verify results by attempting to reproduce them. This practice, called full disclosure, also allows statistical measures of the reliability of these data to be established.

Observation
This step could also be called "research." It is the first stage in understanding the problem you have chosen. After you decide on your area of science and the specific question you want to ask, you will need to research everything that you can find about the problem. You can collect information on your science fair topic from your own experiences, books, the internet, or even smaller "unofficial" experiments. This initial research should play a big part in the science fair idea that you finally choose. Let's take the example of the tomatoes in the garden. You like to garden, and notice that some tomatoes are bigger than others and wonder why. Because of this personal experience and an interest in the problem, you decide to learn more about what makes plants grow. For this stage of the Scientific Method, it's important to use as many sources as you can find. The more information you have on your science fair project topic, the better the design of your experiment is going to be, and the better your science fair project is going to be overall. Also try to get information from your teachers or librarians, or professionals who know something about your science fair topic. They can help to guide you to a solid experimental setup.

Experimentation
This is the part of the scientific method that tests your hypothesis. An experiment is a tool that you design to find out if your ideas about your topic are right or wrong.

It is absolutely necessary to design a science fair experiment that will accurately test your hypothesis. The experiment is the most important part of the scientific method. It's the logical process that lets scientists learn about the world. On the next page, we'll discuss the ways that you can go about designing a science fair experiment idea.

An experiment is a method of testing - with the goal of explaining - the nature of reality. Experiments can vary from personal and informal (eg. tasting a range of chocolates to find a favourite), to highly controlled (eg. tests requiring complex apparatus overseen by many scientists hoping to discover information about subatomic particles). More formally, an experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the accuracy of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results. A child may carry out basic experiments to understand the nature of gravity, while teams of scientists may take years of systematic investigation to advance the understanding of a phenomenon. Experimentation is the step in the scientific method that helps people decide between two or more competing explanations or hypotheses. These hypotheses suggest reasons to explain a phenomenon, or predict the results of an action. An example might be the hypothesis that "if I release this ball, it will fall to the floor": this suggestion can then be tested by carrying out the experiment of letting go of the ball, and observing the results. Formally, a hypothesis is compared against its opposite or null hypothesis ("if I release this ball, it will not fall to the floor"); the null hypothesis is that there is no explanation or predictive power of the phenomenon through the reasoning that is being investigated. Once hypotheses are defined, an experiment can be carried out - and the results analysed - in order to confirm, refute, or define the accuracy of the hypotheses.

Hypothesis
The next stage of the Scientific Method is known as the "hypothesis." This word basically means "a possible solution to a problem, based on knowledge and research." The hypothesis is a simple statement that defines what you think the outcome of your experiment will be. All of the first stage of the Scientific Method -- the observation, or research stage -- is designed to help you express a problem in a single question ("Does the amount of sunlight in a garden affect tomato size?") and propose an answer to the question based on what you know. The experiment that you will design is done to test the hypothesis. Using the example of the tomato experiment, here is an example of a hypothesis: TOPIC: "Does the amount of sunlight a tomato plant receives affect the size of the tomatoes?" HYPOTHESIS: "I believe that the more sunlight a tomato plant receives, the larger the tomatoes will grow. This hypothesis is based on: (1) Tomato plants need sunshine to make food through photosynthesis, and logically, more sun means more food, and; (2) Through informal, exploratory observations of plants in a garden, those with more sunlight appear to grow bigger.

A hypothesis (from Greek ; plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously in common and informal usage, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis. In a related but distinguishable usage, the term hypothesis is used for the antecedent of a proposition; thus in proposition "If P, then Q", P denotes the hypothesis (or antecedent); Q can be called a consequent. P is the assumption in a (possibly counterfactual) What If question.

The adjective hypothetical, meaning "having the nature of a hypothesis", or "being assumed to exist as an immediate consequence of a hypothesis", can refer to any of these meanings of the term "hypothesis".

Theory
Originally the word theory is a technical term from Ancient Greek. It is derived from theoria, , meaning "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and refers to contemplation or speculation, sas opposed to action.[1] Theory is especially often contrasted to "practice" (Greek praxis, ) an Aristotelian concept which is used in a broad way to refer to any thing done for the sake of any action, in contrast with theory, which is not. "Theoria" is also a word still used in theological contexts. A classical example of the distinction between theoretical and practical uses the discipline of medicine: Medical theory and theorizing involves trying to understand the causes and nature of health and sickness, while the practical side of medicine is trying to make people healthy. These two things are related but can be independent, because it is possible to research health and sickness without curing specific patients, and it is possible to cure a patient without knowing how the cure worked.[2] While theories in the arts and philosophy may address ideas and empirical phenomena which are not easily observable, in modern science the term "theory", or "scientific theory" is generally understood to refer to a proposed explanation of empirical phenomena, made in a way consistent with scientific method. Such theories are preferably described in such a way that any scientist in the field is in a position to understand, verify, and challenge (or "falsify") it. In this modern scientific context the distinction between theory and practice corresponds roughly to the distinction between theoretical science and technology or applied science. A common distinction made in science is between theories and hypotheses, with the former being considered as satisfactorily tested or proven and the latter used to denote conjectures or proposed descriptions or models which have not yet been tested or proven to the same standard

Law/Principle
A scientific law or scientific principle is a concise verbal or mathematical statement of a relation that expresses a fundamental principle of science, like Newton's law of universal gravitation. A scientific law must always apply under the same conditions, and implies a causal relationship between its elements. The law must be confirmed and broadly agreed upon through the process of inductive reasoning. As well, factual and well-confirmed statements like "Mercury is liquid at standard temperature and pressure" are considered to be too specific to qualify as scientific laws. A central problem in the philosophy of science, going back to David Hume, is that of distinguishing scientific laws from principles that arise merely accidentally because of the constant conjunction of one thing and another.[1] A law differs from a scientific theory in that it does not posit a mechanism or explanation of phenomena: it is merely a distillation of the results of repeated observation. As such, a law is limited in applicability to circumstances resembling those already observed, and is often found to be false when extrapolated. Ohm's law only applies to constant currents, Newton's law of universal gravitation only applies in weak gravitational fields, the early laws of aerodynamics such as Bernoulli's principle do not apply in case of compressible flow such as occurs in transonic and supersonic flight, Hooke's law only applies to strain below the elastic limit, etc. The term "scientific law" is traditionally associated with the natural sciences, though the social sciences also contain scientific laws.[2] Laws can become obsolete if they are found in contradiction with new data, as with Bode's law or the biogenetic law.
I have to agree with WildBill. Science has greatly improved medicine. Medical students used to have to sneak bodies out of graves at night to do studies on the human body. They couldn't do it legally because of religious ignorance. Their studies greatly improved medicine and have helped countless numbers of people.