Scientific Method

What is Biology?

Study of living things

What is an observation?

When something is noticed

What is a hypothesis?

An educated guess based off observation

What is the purpose of a hypothesis?

Form the basis of a prediction

What is the purpose of experimentation?

To test the hypothesis

What is data?

Measurements and information gathered from experimentation

What is a theory?

Hypothesis supported by numerous experiments

What is a law or principle?

Theory that has been shown to be correct when tested over a long period of time

Where do you publish results?

Scientific journal

What is the importance of publishing results?

Peer Review

What is a variable

Factor that can change in the experiment

What is your control?

Provides a comparison against the experiment

What is a replicate?

When an experiment is repeated

Why do we do random selection?

Avoid bias and greater reliability

Why do we use a large sample size?

Ensures more accurate results

Why do we do double blind testing?

Neither tester nor the subject should know who is receiving the real drug/placebo

What is a placebo?

Harmless drug given to patients in a control group

What are ethical issues?

Whether something is right or wrong

What are limitations to the Scientific Method?

Extent of our basic knowledge

Our ability to interpret results