Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

• Scientists study the natural and material world.
• Science findings are limited to questions that can be answered with empirical evidence.
• Scientific knowledge can describe the consequences of actions but does not necessarily prescribe the decisions that society takes.
• Science and technology may raise ethical issues for which science, by itself, does not provide answers and solutions.
• Science knowledge indicates what can happen in natural systems—not what should happen. The latter involves ethics, values, and human decisions about the use of knowledge.
• Many decisions are not made using science alone, but rely on social and cultural contexts to resolve issues.