BIO 4: Chapter 1 Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the levels of biological organization and the principles of scientific inquiry as presented in Chapter 1 of BIO 4.

Biology

The scientific study of life.

Biosphere

Consists of all life on earth and all the places where life exists, including land, bodies of water, the atmosphere, and the ocean floor.

Ecosystem

Consists of all the living things in an area, along with all the nonliving components.

Biological community

All the organisms living in a particular ecosystem, including plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other microscopic organisms.

Population

Consists of all the individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time.

Organisms

Individual living things; each individual of a population is an organism.

Organs

A body part that is made up of multiple tissues working together to provide a specific function in the body.

Tissues

A group of cells working together to provide a specialized function.

Cell

Life’s fundamental unit of structure and function and the smallest unit of organization that can be called living.

Organelles

Functional components present within cells that are only found in eukaryotic cells.

Molecules

Chemical structures that have two or more units of atoms.

Quantitative data

Data collected in the form of numerical measurements.

Qualitative data

Data collected in the form of recorded descriptions instead of numerical measurements, such as Jane Goodall’s records of chimpanzee behavior.

Statistics

A type of mathematics used by scientists to analyze data to test whether results are significant or random fluctuations.

Inductive reasoning

A type of logic where generalizations are derived from many observations.

Hypothesis

A testable and falsifiable explanation made after careful consideration and research; it is not an educated guess.

Deductive reasoning

Logic that works from general to specific using $\text{If....then}$ logic.

Controlled experiment

A test that compares an experimental group with a control group.

Independent variable

The variable that the researcher decides to change in an experiment.

Dependent variable

The variable being measured that was predicted to be affected by the independent variable.

Controlled variables

Factors the researcher keeps constant so that the only difference between the experimental group and control group is the independent variable.

Scientific theory

A concept much broader than a hypothesis that is supported by many bodies of evidence and can be rejected if results do not fit.

Model organisms

Species used to represent other species in research for reasons such as ethical implications, ease of use/reproduction, or available biological tools.