Medicine Man

This movie is about the race to find a cure for cancer in a rainforest that is disappearing around two scientists as they frantically carry out scientific research using scientific inquiry. They pose hypothesis after hypothesis and carry out scientific method to refute each one of these hypothesis, until the end of the movie when they find the answer to the problem. The scientists show the use of appropriate laboratory apparatus such as the gas chromatograph, which is an instrument used to analyze different bio-chemicals. They organize, interpret and evaluate data from a controlled scientific investigation which identifies the control, as well as independent and dependent variables. The movie exhibits the rainforest biome and alludes to the interdependence of all living organisms within this living system. The destruction of the rain forest means less rain and the encroachment of savannahs and deserts with each year, as well as the possible destruction of vast numbers of plant and animal species that possibly carry the cures for many diseases. I used this video to introduce scientific method. My students were given a worksheet with questions that followed along with the movie. They were asked to determine the problem, three different hypotheses, the control, as well as the dependent and independent variables. They were asked to do a journal write in which they discussed what they had learned and if they thought the movie helped them better understand the scientific process. Most students really liked the movie and thought it was helpful to see the field research involved in solving a scientific problem.