The Nature of Science

In the new chemistry guide you will find that NOS is composed of 5 sections:

1. What is science and what is the scientific endeavour?
2. The understanding of science
3. The objectivity of science
4. The human face of science
5. Scientific literacy and the public understanding of science

Interactive LINK.
Below is a word cloud of the words that appear most frequently in the NOS section of the guide:

In the new IB exams, the nature of science will appear more explicitly in questions. For example:

This question is not examining content, but the use of data to support hypotheses or inferences. (The correct answer is A).
The NOS points related:

• 1.8 - The importance of evidence is seen in the use of collected data to form inferences.
• 2.5 - Scientists sometimes form hypotheses. Statements A-D are stated as hypotheses which can be tested using the experimental data provided.
• 2.8 - The ideas of correlation and cause are very important in science. This question is an excellent example of this statement as it demonstrates strong correlations in thegraph but without explanatory scientific mechanisms to support them.
• 5.2 - The idea that scientists are important in transmitting information of public consequence with an understanding of the underlying issues (in this case the important issue of proving a causal relationship).