The confusion concerning the meaning of the terms science and technology is readily apparent in the literature of various study groups concerned with the issue of technological literacy, including researchers working in the fields of mathematics, engineering, and education. The literature would suggest that rather than one relationship between science and technology, there are many. These fields are mutually exclusive and not mutually dependent, although each has been enhanced by contributions of the other. Generally, if the scope of a problem is clearly defined as solving a human or social problem within a specified environment, then the activity is technological. If, on the other hand, the goal of the problem does not restrict the scope of the results sought or the direction of inquiry, then, in most cases, the activity is scientific. Practitioners designing technological literacy programs would do better to avoid the seemingly unresolvable controversy over the difference between science and technology and concentrate instead on determining what constitutes the science of technology. It is proposed that technology be viewed as a science that deals with the creation, utilization, and behavior of adaptive systems in relation to human beings, society, and the environment. (MN)