What are the applications of science

Updated April 28, 2018

By Claire Gillespie

Whatever type of science project you do, it follows a process known as the scientific method. The scientific method looks for cause and effect relationships in nature, such as how changes to something make something else behave. This helps people learn and answer questions about the world they live in.

The scientific method, used in science projects, contains several steps. As part of your conclusion, you may include a real world application, which explains how the results of your experiment can apply to society.

The number of steps in a science project vary from one to another, depending on ability level and time restrictions, but in most cases you follow standard steps in a particular order. First, you ask a question (usually beginning with how, what, when, who, which, why or where) about something you can measure. Next comes the research part, where you find out the best way to do things to avoid repeating past mistakes. When you have your research, you can propose a hypothesis, an educated guess about what you expect to happen, e.g. "If you do X, then X will happen," then perform an experiment to test the hypothesis.

It's important to carry out a fair experiment, changing only one factor, the independent variable, at a time while keeping all other conditions, the dependent variables, the same. You should also repeat your experiments many times to ensure the initial results weren't an accident. Record your observations, analyze what the data means and reach a conclusion such as do you accept or reject your hypothesis?

As part of your conclusion, you may include an application. This is a real world implication of what your experiment discovered. In other words, how does your science project relate to real life and the wider scientific field? How can the results of your experiment apply to society? For example, in an experiment about how much gas yeast produces in various environments, your application section may talk about how those scientific principles can optimize the rising of bread dough and make better baked goods. An experiment about the rate of water absorption by calcium chloride in different environments can help make a natural, cheaper dehumidifier alternative to an electric dehumidifier. An experiment about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving (tested using a computer-based driving video game) can educate the public, change legislation and save lives.

An application that simulates real-world activities using mathematics. Scientific applications turn real-world objects into mathematical models, and their actions are simulated by executing the required formulas. For example, an airplane's flight characteristics can be simulated in the computer. Nature can be simulated, including rivers, lakes and mountains. Virtually any objects with known characteristics can be modeled and simulated.

Simulations use enormous calculations and often require supercomputer speed. As personal computers became more powerful, more laboratory experiments were converted into computer models that could be interactively examined by students without the risk and cost of the actual experiments. See algorithm, vector processor, supercomputer and quantum computing.

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