AP Bio Unit 1 Module 0

Biology

The science of life

Biologists

Scientists who study life

Organisms

Living things that display all the properties of life

Gene

Unit of heredity

Genome

All the genetic information that an organism contains

Cells

Simplest self-reproducing unit that can exist independently

The four Big Ideas of AP Bio

Evolution, Energetics, Informtion Storage and Transmission, and System Interactions

Species

A group of interbredding organisms that can produce fertile offspring

Evolution

Change overtime, explains this unity and diversity of life

Natural Selection

Mechanism of evolution in which some individuals survive and reproduce more than others in a particular environment as a result of variation among individuals that can be passed on to the next generation.

Energy

The ability to do work; esssential for life

Energetics

Examines the properties of energy and how energy is distributed in biologica, chemical, or physical processes.

information storage and transmission

Information refers to the instructions that all cells have that in part determine what they look like and function.

DNA ( deoxyribonnucleic acid )

The carrier of genetic information for all organisms

System

A group of things that function otgether as a whole

Biotic

Living organisms

Abiotic

Non-living components

Biological System

Made up of both biotic and abiotic entities that interact

Scientific Inquiry

The process scientists use to ask questions and seek answers about the natural world in a deliberate and ordered way

The 3 parts of scientific inquiry

Exploration, investigation, communication

Observation

The act of viewing the world around us

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation for one or more oberservations, and makes predictions that can be tested by experimentation or additonal observations.

Controlled experiment

The researchers sets up at least two groups to be tested; the conditions and setup of the groups are identical, except the researcher deliberately introduces a single change, or variable, in one group to see its effect.

Test group or experimental group

The group experiences the variable

Control group

Is not exposed to the variable

Independent variable

The group that is manipulated to test the hypothesis

Dependent variable

This variable is considered " dependent" because it is expected to vary based on the independent variable

Negative control groups

The expectation is that there will be no effect

Positive control group

The group that receives a treatment or variable with a known result

Null hypothesis

Predicts that the intervention or treatment has no effect at all

Alternative hypothesis

Predicts that the intervention or treatment has an effect

Theory

A general explanation of the world supported by a large body of experimental evidence and observation.