MODULE 1

Overview

Science is as old as the world itself. From the genesis of time science has existed.
Science and Technology indeed play major roles in the everyday life. They make difficult
and complicated tasks easier and allow people to do more with less effort and time. The
developments of science and technology are not just products of people’s imagination or a one-time
thought process; but brought about by gradual improvements to earlier works from different time
periods. The driving force behind this continuous progress is the desire to raise the quality of life of
the people.
The course discusses how science influenced human society and vise versa. It seeks to
instill reflective knowledge in the students so that they are able to live the good life and display
ethical decision-making in both social and scientific dilemmas. It is hoped that students will
appreciate the contributions/impact of science and technology to their life, to the humanity as a
whole, in Philippine society and in the world in general.

CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS IN WHICH SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS CHANGED THE

COURSE OFSCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

A. Discuss the interactions between science, technology and society throughout history

B. Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society and the environment

C. Discuss the scientific and technological development in the Philippines

Motivation/Take off

ACTIVITY 1

Fill in the blanks by referring to the given clues and then match each subject with the field of
study under which it belongs by writing the letter at the end of each science words.

CLUE SCIENCE FIELD OF STUDY

1. Piece of wood BIO _ _ _ Y a. Minerals
2. To steal _ _ _ OTICS b. Body structure
3. A girl’s name _ _ _ TOMY c. Living things
4. Encountered _ _ _ ALLURGY d. self-controlled machine
5. Light brown BO _ _ _ Y e. Animals
6. Animal park _ _ _ LOGY f. bacteria
7. Sewn end park of a cloth C _ _ _ ISTRY g. matter in outer space
8. A time phase in history MIN _ _ _ LOGY h. Plants
9. Like _ _ TRONOMY i. weather
10. Spanish term for river BACTE _ _ _ LOGY j. metals
k. composition of matter
CONTENT/LESSON PROPER:

LESSON 1: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN THE ANCIENT TIMES

People were concerned with transportation and navigation, communication and record-keeping,
mass production, security and protection, as well as health, aesthetics and architecture.

Transportation was significant because people were trying to go places and discover new
horizons. They travelled to search for food and find better location for their settlements. They also travelled
to trade their surplus goods in exchange for things that they lacked. Navigation assisted them in their
journeys to unfamiliar and strange areas in the world. It allowed them to return home after they discovered
new places or completed an important trade with another group of people

Communication was also essential in their endeavors to discover and occupy new places.
They needed a way to communicate with natives of the area they visited so as to facilitate trade and
prevent possible conflicts. Record-keeping was also important since they needed to remember the places
they had been to and document the trades they made with each other, and the history and culture so they
could establish their identities as they tried to relate with other culture and civilizations.
Weapons and Armors were important in the discovery of new places or the
establishment of new alliances with other tribes, at that time, there was always a risk of conflicts when
people meet met others with different culture and orientations. Stronger nations invade weaker ones so
they could take much needed resources. As such, the development of weapons and armors for security
and protection was considered a major achievement.
A primary challenge they faced was the conservation of life. Different illnesses and diseases,
both natural and man-made, hampered the full potential of a human being. Given this predicament, science
and technology played a major role in the discovery of cures to, if not the prevention of illnesses.
In order to integrate their needs for better transformation, establishment of structures for protection
from human attacks and natural disasters, and construction of bigger and stronger infrastructure- people
ventured into what is known as engineering.
The development would address their specific needs and wants. The development of engineering also
ushered in the introduction of architecture. During the ancient times, elaborative architectural designs were signs of
technological advancement of a particular civilization. In generations, architecture would be considered a status
symbol among nations of how advanced their technology is. It may also establish the identity of a nation.

EARLY HUNTING AND GATHERING TOOLS

An assortment of prehistoric tools provides evidence of the hunting and gathering methods of early
peoples. Slabs of bark were often used to gather nuts and berries and functioned as crude dishes or bowls
(top left). Reproductions of fishing tackle and arrows believed to have been used around 8000 bc are

displayed on the lower left. Recovered tools for digging and cutting (right) are shown with recreated
wooden handles. The heads of the adzes are made from flint, as is the fire-starter shown below them.

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ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
Relief art on the walls of the tomb of Nefer Sakkara shows Egyptian workers harvesting crops and tending
livestock with rudimentary tools.

ANCIENT SEAL
Seals and stamps have been used to close agreements,
record transactions, and authorize documents for thousands of
years. One of the earliest forms of printing, seals consisted of a
raised or carved design in a rock that was pressed into wet clay or
wax to create a distinctive and reproducible mark. This bull seal
came from India and is considered typical of the era between 2300
and 1750 BC.

EARLY AGRICULTURAL TOOLS

Humans began farming about 12,000 years ago. The
ability to control their food supply freed people from a nomadic
lifestyle, which allowed for the beginning of cities and towns.
These early farming tools date from about 6,000 BC. The picture
portrays an axe (bottom) used for clearing; flint sickles (left), used
for harvesting cereal crops; a flat rock and rounded stone
(center), used for grinding flour; and perforated clay slabs (upper
right), probably used to ventilate bread ovens.

WHEEL STRUCTURES
Considered one of the most important inventions in history, the wheel
is more than 5000 years old and has been crucial to mechanical devices
ever since it emerged. The wheels shown here are relatively sophisticated
in comparison to the earliest models. In the case of a fixed axle, the wheel
is held in place beside the chassis by a small peg and revolves
independent of the axle. (This model differs from another standard design,
the moving axle, in which the axle is firmly fixed to the wheel and the two
components revolve as a unit.) Early forms of roller bearings, devices that
help wheels to turn more smoothly, were developed around 100 BC.
Wheels were initially solid disks, but gradually evolved into the spoked design, which is both light and
strong.

TYPES OF BOATS

Boats are used in a number of ways. They

can be purely recreational, or they can have more
practical uses, such as serving as a home or as a
method of transportation. Even boats with similar
uses may differ in other respects. For example,
methods of propulsion range from oars, to
mechanical engines, to wind-catching sails.

CATAPULT
The catapult worked like a giant slingshot, propelling large
stones, javelins, and other objects over high walls, moats, and other
barriers during ancient times and the Middle Ages. One type of catapult
called the mangonel used the torsion of heavy cords twisted between
two uprights to throw heavy stones, but it had little accuracy.

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 ANCIENT CHARIOT
A chariot driver cracks his whip to encourage his
horses. Chariot racing was a popular pastime in ancient
Greece and Rome and was recorded as an event in the
ancient Olympic Games.

PYTHAGORAS
Considered the first true mathematician, Pythagoras in the
6th century bc emphasized the study of mathematics as a means to
understanding all relationships in the natural world. His followers,
known as Pythagoreans, were the first to teach that the Earth is a
sphere revolving around the Sun. This detail showing Pythagoras
surrounded by his disciples comes from a fresco known as the
School of Athens (1510-1511), by Italian Renaissance painter
Raphael.
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS
Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus revolutionized
science by postulating that the earth and other planets revolve about
a stationary sun. Developed in the early 1500s but not published until
years later, his heliocentric (sun-centered) theory disputed the
Ptolemaic theory, popular at the time, which held that the sun and the
planets revolved about the fixed earth. Copernicus at first hesitated in
publishing his findings because he feared criticism from the scientific
and religious communities. After suffering initial disbelief and
rejection, however, the Copernican system ranked as the most
accepted concept of the universe by the late 17th century.

ARCHIMEDES
A Greek mathematician and inventor, Archimedes is
credited with important contributions to the development of
physics. He is known for applying science to everyday life,
developing practical inventions such as the lever and the screw.
These simple machines have found uses as diverse as warfare
and irrigation. Archimedes supposedly discovered the principle
of water displacement while taking a bath, shouting “Eureka!”
when he realized why his body caused the level of the water to
rise.

PLATO
Plato, one of the most famous philosophers of ancient Greece,
was the first to use the term philosophy, which means “love of
knowledge.” Born around 428 BC, Plato investigated a wide range of
topics. Chief among his ideas was the theory of forms, which proposed
that objects in the physical world merely resemble perfect forms in the
ideal world, and that only these perfect forms can be the object of true
knowledge. The goal of the philosopher, according to Plato, is to know
the perfect forms and to instruct others in that knowledge

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 ARISTOTLE
A student of ancient Greek philosopher Plato, Aristotle shared
his teacher’s reverence for human knowledge but revised many of
Plato’s ideas by emphasizing methods rooted in observation and
experience. Aristotle surveyed and systematized nearly all the extant
branches of knowledge and provided the first ordered accounts of
biology, psychology, physics, and literary theory. In addition, Aristotle
invented the field known as formal logic, pioneered zoology, and
addressed virtually every major philosophical problem known during
his time. Known to medieval intellectuals as simply “the Philosopher,”
Aristotle is possibly the greatest thinker in Western history and,
historically, perhaps the single greatest influence on Western
intellectual development

LESSON 2: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN THE MIDDLE AGES

WINDMILL
A water-pumping windmill in Spring, Arizona, provides water for
agricultural use. The blades, or sails, are mounted at an
oblique angle on the horizontal shaft. The fantail rudder steers
the bladed wheel into the wind to maximize the windmill’s
efficiency.

SQUARE-RIGGER
Shown sailing near Fredriksted, Saint Croix, the
square-rigger Denmark is a modern example of a 15th-
century sailing ship with rectangular sails on the mainmast,
foremast, and rear mizzenmast.

PONTOONED BUSH PLANE

Pontoons allow this bush plane to land on Lake
Abitibbi in Ontario, Canada. Seaplanes have a variety of
uses, but they are particularly valuable to bush pilots who
must frequently make landings in rugged, limited-access
areas.

MICROSCOPE, 18TH CENTURY

This drawing shows a compound microscope used in
18th-century France. First developed in the late 16th century,
compound microscopes use two or more sets of lenses to
achieve high magnification.

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WEAPONS OF MEDIEVAL WARFARE
During the Middle Ages, European society developed into
a political and military system known as feudalism. Living under
the threat of invasions from foreigners, the people of Europe also
developed a different kind of weaponry. Mounted warriors, known
as the cavalry, could move quickly and strike hard with axes,
pikes, lances, and two-edged swords longer than those used by
men on foot.
GALILEO
Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo maintained that
the earth revolved around the sun, disputing the belief held by the
Roman Catholic church that the earth was the center of the
universe. He refused to obey orders from Rome to cease
discussions of his theories and was sentenced to life
imprisonment. It was not until 1984 that a papal commission
acknowledged that the church was wrong.

RENÉ DESCARTES
The first “modern” philosopher and founder of the rationalist
school, René Descartes used reason and mathematics to analyze
the world. Descartes’ book Meditations on the First Philosophy
offered a proof of the existence of God founded on reason, not faith.
Descartes deduced truths about the outer world based on his
sensual perception of it. This method of reasoning became standard
philosophical procedure.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Sir Isaac Newton derived the law of universal gravitation,
invented the branch of mathematics called calculus, and
performed important experiments dealing with the nature of light
and color. Newton’s discovery of gravity inspired research of
natural laws. The idea that man could unlock the secrets of the
natural world helped to bring about the Age of Enlightenment.
Reason and education earned a higher status than religion in the
society that emerged from this new age.

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 LESSON 3: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN THE MODERN TIMES
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL'S TELEPHONE
Alexander Graham Bell constructed this prototype telephone in
1875. The device consists of a coil of wire, a magnetic arm and a taut
membrane. Any sound causes the membrane, and hence the
magnetic arm, to vibrate. The movement of the magnet induces a
fluctuating electric current in the coil. This electrical signal can be
reconverted into sound by an identical apparatus at the other end of
the circuit.
INCANDESCENT LAMP
In an incandescent lamp, an electric current flows through a thin
tungsten wire called a filament. The current heats the filament to about
3000°C (5400°F), which causes it to emit both heat and light. The bulb
must be filled with an inert gas to prevent the filament from burning out.
For many years incandescent lamps were filled with a mixture of nitrogen
and argon. Recently the gas krypton has been used because it allows the
filament to operate at a higher temperature, which produces a brighter
light.
MICROPHONE

Early radio programs depended on microphones, devices that

convert the energy of sound into electrical current. Once sound is
transformed into electrical energy, it may be amplified with relatively little
distortion. Developed around 1875, the initial models of the microphone
were bulky, but frequently used because they represented an exciting new
medium for communication. Here, Lowell Thomas prepares for an NBC

broadcast.

HANDHELD COMPUTER
The handheld computing device attests to the remarkable
miniaturization of computer hardware. The early computers of the 1940s
were so large that they filled entire rooms. Technological innovations,
such as the integrated circuit in 1959 and the microprocessor in 1971,
shrank computers’ central processing units to the size of tiny silicon chips.
Handheld computers are sometimes called personal digital assistants (PDAs).

ROBOTICS
This robotic hand is capable of performing the delicate task of
picking up and holding an egg without breaking it. A tactile array sensor
located on the right half of its gripping mechanism sends information to
the robot's control computer about the pressure the robotic hand exerts;
given this information, the control computer instructs the robotic hand to
loosen, tighten, or maintain the current gripping force. This feedback
loop repeats continuously, enabling the robotic hand to stay in between
the two extremes of dropping and crushing the egg.

LOUIS PASTEUR
French scientist Louis Pasteur made important contributions to
many scientific fields during the mid-1800s. He is considered the
founder of the field of microbiology, working with the germ theory of
disease to establish and explain the causes for many diseases. In
1857 he showed that microorganisms are responsible for food
spoilage.

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 CHARLES DARWIN
Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection became the
foundation concept supporting the theory of evolution. Darwin’s
theory holds that environmental effects lead to varying degrees
of reproductive success in individuals and groups of organisms.
Natural selection tends to promote adaptation in organisms
when necessary for survival. This revolutionary theory was
published in 1859 in Darwin’s famous treatise On the Origin of
Species by Means of Natural Selection.

SIGMUND FREUD
In the late 19th century Viennese neurologist Sigmund Freud
developed a theory of personality and a system of psychotherapy
known as psychoanalysis. According to this theory, people are
strongly influenced by unconscious forces, including innate sexual
and aggressive drives. In this 1938 British Broadcasting Corporation
interview, Freud recounts the early resistance to his ideas and later
acceptance of his work. Freud’s speech is slurred because he was
suffering from cancer of the jaw. He died the following year.

LESSON 4: PHILIPPINES INVENTIONS

JEEPNEY
The most unique form of transportation in Manila is the
jeepney—a converted army jeep outfitted with many
decorations. The colorful jeepneys are often used for short trips
within the city and are an integral part of Manila’s public
transportation system, which also includes bus and rail lines.

SALAMANDERAMPHIBIOUS TRICYCLE
An ordinary transport vehicle that can cross not only flooded streets but also rivers and lakes
invented by Victor Llave and his team at H2O Technologies.

SALt LAMP
A young Filipina inventor named AISA MIJENO was able to invent a lighting system that utilizes a
material abundant in the Philippines- the salt water. She invented the Sustainable Alternative Lighting
SALt) lamp. It is a mixture of a glass of tap water with 2 table spoon of salt.

MEDICAL INCUBATOR
Dr. Fe del Mundo a Filipino pediatrician and the first Asian women admitted into Harvard MedicaL
School, devised a medical incubator made from indigenous and cheap materials w/c did not run by
electricity.

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OUTSTANDING FILIPINO SCIENTISTS

1. Ramon Cabanos Barba – outstanding research on tissue culture in Philippine mango.

2. Josefino Casas Comiso – works on observing the characteristics of Antartica by using satelite
images.
3. Jose Bejar Cruz, Jr – elected as officer of the famous Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering.
4. Lourdes Jansay Cruz – research on sea snail venom.
5. Fabian Millar Dayrit – research on herbal medicine.

OTHER OUTSTANDING FILIPINO SCIENTIST RECOGNIZED WORLDWIDE

1. Caesar A. Saloma – an internationally renowned physicist

2. Edgardo Gomez – famous scientist in marine science
3. William Padolina – chemistry and president of the National Academy of Science and
Technology(NSAT) – Philippines
4. Angel Alcala – marine science

SELF-CHECK:

Informational poster:

1. Make an informational poster indicating the significant contribution/scientific and technological

developments in the world (or in the Philippines) that created a large impact on your life.
2. You will be graded according to: a. required elements b. labels c. graphics and relevance d. attractiveness
and e. grammar.

SELF-REFLECT

Activity 2:

Watch this 3 minutes movie “World’s Greatest Inventions” on YouTube, and give your own reflection
by stating how science and technological developments sets its importance and its salient features as
time passes by.

You may visit this site: https://you.be/VizAMSRooLc

References
1. Quinto, E.J.M. & Nieva, A.D. (2018). Science, Technology and Society: Outcome-Based Module
(1st ed.) C & E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City Philippines.
2. Mcnamara, D.J., Valverde, V.M., & Beleno, III R. (2018). Science, Technology and Society (1st ed).
C & E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City, Philippines.
3. Ballena, N.D.S., Bernal, R.D., Paquiz, L.G., Ramos, R.C., & Viet, L, C. (2004). Science Technology
and Society. Trinitas Publishing, Inc., Trinitas Complex, Pantoc Road, Pantoc, Meycauayan 3020
Bulacan.

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