GEN 003: Science Technology & Society
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #1
Materials:
Lesson title: Historical Developments of Science, Technology & Society Student Activity Sheet, Course
Lesson Objectives: Syllabus, marker
1. Identify the interaction between science and technology.
2. Describe the impact of science and technology to society throughout References:
the history. Bunch, B. & A. Hellemans. 2004.
The History of Science &
Technology. New York:
Houghton Mifflin Co.
A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
1) Introduction (2 mins)
Good day to an independent learner! The topic that you are about to explore today is about the history of
science and technology. Do you believe that technology had already existed thousands of years ago?
“The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future” ~ Theodore Roosevelt
B. MAIN LESSON
1) Activity 1: Content Notes (13 mins)
SCIENCE deals with learning new facts (discoveries) and solving problems (scientific method) while
TECHNOLOGY deals with creating or inventing things that fulfill our needs and desires or perform certain functions.
Technology is the application of understanding of natural laws to the solution of practical problems.
**Science contributes to technology in many ways, which includes the following:
⮚ New knowledge which serves as a direct source of ideas for new technological possibilities.
⮚ Source of tools and techniques for more efficient engineering design and a knowledge base for evaluation of feasibility
of designs.
**Technology contributes to science in at least two (2) ways:
⮚ Providing a fertile source of novel scientific questions and thereby also helping to justify the allocation of
resources needed to address these questions in an efficient and timely manner, extending the agenda of science.
⮚ Source of otherwise unavailable instrumentation and techniques needed to address novel and more difficult
scientific questions more efficiently.
The emphasis on the realm of Science, Technology and Society (STS) may have the same degree of relevance that
the “historical turn” had in the past. It is a “social turn” which affects philosophy of science as well as philosophy of
technology.
Science, Technology
and Society
Ancient times
Middle Age
Modern Age
This document is the property of Phinma EducationPage 1
, GEN 003: Science Technology & Society
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #1
Science and Technology in the ANCIENT TIMES (through 599 BCE) is divided into 3 periods:
1. Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, & Neolithic)
2. Bronze Age
3. Iron Age
1. Paleolithic (or Old Stone Age), Mesolithic
(or Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (or New
Stone Age), this era is marked by the use of
tools by our early human ancestors (who
evolved around 300,000 B.C.)
In the Paleolithic period (roughly 2.5
million years ago to 10,000 B.C.),
early humans lived in caves or simple
huts or tepees and were hunters and
gatherers. They used basic stone and
bone tools, as well as crude stone
axes, for hunting birds and wild
animals. They cooked their prey,
including woolly mammoths, deer and Paleolithic hand axes
Paleolithic hand axes were teardrop-shaped stone tools with two sharpened edges that met at a
bison, using controlled fire. They also point. In one method, they were made by roughly chipping away flakes from the edges with a
hammer and then sharpening the edges by chipping away smaller flakes. Finally, a pointed stick was
fished and collected berries, fruit and used to pry off tiny flakes of stone.
nuts.
During the Mesolithic period (about 10,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C.), humans used small stone tools,
now also polished and sometimes crafted with points and attached to antlers, bone or wood to serve
as spears and arrows.
Finally, during the Neolithic period (roughly 8,000 B.C. to 3,000 B.C.), ancient humans switched
from hunter/gatherer mode to agriculture and food production. They domes ticated animals and
cultivated cereal grains. They used polished hand axes, adzes for ploughing and tilling the land and
started to settle in the plains.
2. During the Bronze Age (about 3,000 B.C. to 1,300 B.C.), metalworking advances were made, as bronze,
a copper and tin alloy, was discovered. Now used for weapons
and tools for animal Domestication, the harder metal replaced
its stone predecessors, and helped spark innovations including
the ox-drawn plow and the wheel.
This time period also brought advances in architecture and art,
including the invention of the potter’s wheel, and textiles —
clothing consisted of mostly wool items such as skirts, kilts,
tunics and cloaks.
Organized government, law and warfare, as well as beginnings
of religion, also came into play during the Bronze Age,
perhaps most notably relating to the ancient Egyptians who
built the pyramids during this time.
This document is the property of Phinma EducationPage 2
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #1
Materials:
Lesson title: Historical Developments of Science, Technology & Society Student Activity Sheet, Course
Lesson Objectives: Syllabus, marker
1. Identify the interaction between science and technology.
2. Describe the impact of science and technology to society throughout References:
the history. Bunch, B. & A. Hellemans. 2004.
The History of Science &
Technology. New York:
Houghton Mifflin Co.
A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
1) Introduction (2 mins)
Good day to an independent learner! The topic that you are about to explore today is about the history of
science and technology. Do you believe that technology had already existed thousands of years ago?
“The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future” ~ Theodore Roosevelt
B. MAIN LESSON
1) Activity 1: Content Notes (13 mins)
SCIENCE deals with learning new facts (discoveries) and solving problems (scientific method) while
TECHNOLOGY deals with creating or inventing things that fulfill our needs and desires or perform certain functions.
Technology is the application of understanding of natural laws to the solution of practical problems.
**Science contributes to technology in many ways, which includes the following:
⮚ New knowledge which serves as a direct source of ideas for new technological possibilities.
⮚ Source of tools and techniques for more efficient engineering design and a knowledge base for evaluation of feasibility
of designs.
**Technology contributes to science in at least two (2) ways:
⮚ Providing a fertile source of novel scientific questions and thereby also helping to justify the allocation of
resources needed to address these questions in an efficient and timely manner, extending the agenda of science.
⮚ Source of otherwise unavailable instrumentation and techniques needed to address novel and more difficult
scientific questions more efficiently.
The emphasis on the realm of Science, Technology and Society (STS) may have the same degree of relevance that
the “historical turn” had in the past. It is a “social turn” which affects philosophy of science as well as philosophy of
technology.
Science, Technology
and Society
Ancient times
Middle Age
Modern Age
This document is the property of Phinma EducationPage 1
, GEN 003: Science Technology & Society
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #1
Science and Technology in the ANCIENT TIMES (through 599 BCE) is divided into 3 periods:
1. Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, & Neolithic)
2. Bronze Age
3. Iron Age
1. Paleolithic (or Old Stone Age), Mesolithic
(or Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (or New
Stone Age), this era is marked by the use of
tools by our early human ancestors (who
evolved around 300,000 B.C.)
In the Paleolithic period (roughly 2.5
million years ago to 10,000 B.C.),
early humans lived in caves or simple
huts or tepees and were hunters and
gatherers. They used basic stone and
bone tools, as well as crude stone
axes, for hunting birds and wild
animals. They cooked their prey,
including woolly mammoths, deer and Paleolithic hand axes
Paleolithic hand axes were teardrop-shaped stone tools with two sharpened edges that met at a
bison, using controlled fire. They also point. In one method, they were made by roughly chipping away flakes from the edges with a
hammer and then sharpening the edges by chipping away smaller flakes. Finally, a pointed stick was
fished and collected berries, fruit and used to pry off tiny flakes of stone.
nuts.
During the Mesolithic period (about 10,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C.), humans used small stone tools,
now also polished and sometimes crafted with points and attached to antlers, bone or wood to serve
as spears and arrows.
Finally, during the Neolithic period (roughly 8,000 B.C. to 3,000 B.C.), ancient humans switched
from hunter/gatherer mode to agriculture and food production. They domes ticated animals and
cultivated cereal grains. They used polished hand axes, adzes for ploughing and tilling the land and
started to settle in the plains.
2. During the Bronze Age (about 3,000 B.C. to 1,300 B.C.), metalworking advances were made, as bronze,
a copper and tin alloy, was discovered. Now used for weapons
and tools for animal Domestication, the harder metal replaced
its stone predecessors, and helped spark innovations including
the ox-drawn plow and the wheel.
This time period also brought advances in architecture and art,
including the invention of the potter’s wheel, and textiles —
clothing consisted of mostly wool items such as skirts, kilts,
tunics and cloaks.
Organized government, law and warfare, as well as beginnings
of religion, also came into play during the Bronze Age,
perhaps most notably relating to the ancient Egyptians who
built the pyramids during this time.
This document is the property of Phinma EducationPage 2
