PRE-PUBLICA TION EDITION - Nelson Education

TRy ThisSkills:Analyzing, Evaluating, Communicatingdistinguishing between basic and applied researchScience and technology are so intertwined and dependent on eachother that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the twoor to determine where one ends and the other begins.1. In a small group, consider each of the following descriptions.Discuss each description and decide whether it refers tobasic research, applied research, or both. Explain your choicefor each statement.• Researchers have designed a virus that will carry geneticinformation to a specific type of bacterial cell, causing thebacterium to self-destruct.• Eliminating the oxygen from a package containing freshproduce extends its refrigerator life.• NASA astronauts observed that crystals grown in theInternational Space Station are perfectly formed.• A group of researchers has discovered how a virus deliversDNA to a living cell.• Certain materials, known as superconductors, can conductelectrical energy very efficiently, with practically no loss ofenergy as heat.• Government researchers are trying to determine what causessome maple trees to lose all of their leaves in midsummer.• Researchers have designed a flexible lens that changesshape in response to electrical stimuli.• Superconductor materials are used in new computers.• A car manufacturer’s research lab has built a battery forits electric car that can store 50 % more energy than otherbatteries.• Chemical researchers have found a new chemical processthat absorbs carbon dioxide.Many of the by-products of human industry andtechnology become pollutants. For example, thereare hundreds of millions of discarded cellphones inNorth America, most of which end up in landfills(Figure 7).Figure 8 illustrates how technology can transformthe energy of the Sun into electrical energy. Thistechnology is generally more environmentallyfriendly than the use of fossil fuels. Researchers inthe auto industry are busy developing vehicles thatuse alternative sources of energy and are more fuelefficient. The intention is that these vehicles will haveless of an impact on the environment.Figure 7 Cellphones contain hazardous substances such as lead,mercury, and arsenic. These metals can leach into groundwater ifthey are dumped into landfills.The impact of science and technology on theenvironment is not always negative. There are manypositive effects of science and technology. Newknowledge improves our understanding of the naturalworld, and new technologies allow us to live with theenvironment in a more sustainable way.(a)Figure 8 (a) Small solar panels can charge your cellphone.(b) Large panels can heat water or power your home.The relationships among science, technology,society, and the environment are complex. To makewise personal decisions and to act as responsiblecitizens we must think carefully about the influencesof each of these elements on the other. We eachhave a responsibility to ourselves, to society, andto future generations to become scientifically andtechnologically literate.(b)NEL Science, Technology, Society, and the Environment (STSE) 657