The process of seeking relationships among scientific facts includes looking for cause and effect. All science is based on the assumption that every natural event has a natural cause.

Mathematics gives precision to science. Scientists calculate everything from the number of atoms in a gram of hydrogen to the heat of the sun, and from the width of a galaxy of stars to the number of calories in a chocolate bar. Using English to Calculate Mathematical relationships can be expressed in sentences using phrases like ”is equal to”, ”is proportional to” and ”is the product of”. ...The weight of the air at sea level is equal to 14.7 pounds per square inch. => 14.7 pounds weight = 1 square inch | The pressure inside your body equals the pressure outside. => pressure1 = pressure2 | The pressure on a diver is thus equal to the weight of the atmospheric pressure plus the water pressure. => pressure on diver = atmospheric pressure + water pressure | The pressure of the water is directly proportional to the depth. => water pressure ∝ depth

LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS: CLASSIFICATION The early stages of scientific research involve making observations and gathering information. However, collecting facts is not enough. The scientist needs to arrange and classify the facts and to find relationships among them. The word classification comes from the word class – meaning a group of things that all have one important element in common.

LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS COMPARING Scientists try to organize information by seeking relationships. Classification is one way of arranging information, comparing is another. Comparing (and contrasting) is examining two or more items to discover their similarities (and differences). The language of comparison and contrast is frequently needed when studying tables and other statistical information.

LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS DEFINING Defining is basic to human thinking and to scientific expression. Definitions appear in certain texts very frequently, especially in elementary texts such as training manuals, textbooks, etc. They can, however, be found in more advanced discourse, especially when writers/speakers present new concepts or are describing a new way of looking at an old idea.

LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS DESCRIBING A description serves to introduce a scientist´s view of the world. It may describe conditions, results of an experiment, chemical changes, physical movements, or what is seen through a telescope or microscope. A description may also tell the characteristics or distinctive features of an object. – what it looks like, how it sounds, tastes, or smells, works, or is produced.

LANGUAGE PATTERNS EXEMPLIFICATION Last time the unit was concerned with definitions. It is often useful in definitions to give examples: this action is known as exemplification (or exemplifying). Exemplifications are often introduced by for example or e.g.

The goal of all scientific investigation is to predict the future. Prediction is a part of every field of science. The chemist who develops a new drug must be able to predict its effects on the human body. The biologist must predict the likelihood of a particular child inheriting haemophilia or another genetically linked disease. No prediction of the future behaviour of nature is 100 percent certain. The scientist must always be ready to adjust and refine predictions based on new observations.