Kyle Keck

Honors Biology

Mr. Hawkins

August 14, 2016

Science and Engineering: Two Different Processes,

One Goal

Science and Engineering are two processes that are always changing so that we can

acquire new knowledge and better our world. However, the scientific method and the

engineering, or d-school process is often confused by many people. How are they alike and

different? What role do these two methods play in our world and society? Through the use of

modern scientific discoveries, and experts from both areas science and engineering are very

intriguing areas both alone, and together.

Science, as Bozeman explains in his video Asking Questions and Defining Problems, is

all about observing natural phenomenon. For example, when an apple dropped on Newtons head

he began observing and inquiring why the apple fell. After a series of observations and tests he

discovered the force gravity. This is one way science is different than engineering. While science

observes natural phenomena, engineering is about solving human needs. Another example of

how science is different than engineering is that science seeks to explain everything about the

natural world. In his video, How Simple Ideas Lead to Scientific Discoveries Adam Savage

talks about how for centuries, people have been trying to explain everything based on what they

thought in their head, or stories. However, it wasn't until Armand Fizeau asked his dad why the

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ball moved to the back of the wagon and his dad said it was Inertia and it sparked a hunger for

knowledge. Due to his dad saying this, Fizeau wanted to know everything about why things

worked and eventually won a Nobel Prize in Physics. The backbone of science is curiosity and it

is through curiosity that we begin asking questions about the natural world, and that leads to

scientific discoveries. While science is involved with gathering knowledge of the natural world,

engineering takes a different approach.

Engineering, as Bozeman explains, involves solving human needs. Unlike science,

engineering is about design and making something to better the world and community. An

example of this is a prothetic leg. Through the use of prototyping and testing the product,

engineers were about to develop a robotic leg so that veterans, and disabled could walk again.

This is just one example of how engineering is different than science. Another example of how

engineering is different than science is that engineering doesn't always have one right solution. In

engineering there are many ways to approach a problem, while science sometimes there is only

one approach to a problem or solution. For example, in medicine sometimes there is only one

way for a patient to receive treatment, like cancer. However in the building of a skyscraper, there

are many ways in which construction workers and engineers may choose where to begin and etc.

While both science and engineering each have their own way of working separately, by looking

at the similarities we can see that they can accomplish great things.

Science and Engineering, even though they have a lot of differences, have some

similarities. Both for example, according to Bozeman, ask questions and define problems. By

asking questions and defining problems, science and engineering are achieving more and helping

better people. An example of this would be Genetic editing. According to an article, scientists

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and engineers in China have made the first gene edited dog. Scientists in China say they are the

first to use gene editing to produce customized dogs. They created a beagle with double the

amount of muscle mass by deleting a gene called myostatin. (Regalado,1). This is just one

example of how science and engineering are partnering up to help make this world a better place.

In conclusion, science and engineering are different and similar in many ways. By asking

questions, and defining problems both of these methods are changing the world day by day, and

without it our society wouldn't be where it is today. By changing our society, science and

engineering are always changing so that we can acquire new knowledge and make peoples lives

more efficient and better.

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