Introduction to Biology and Scientific Inquiry

Flashcards covering biological themes, scientific methodology, and cell types from the lecture transcript.

What is homeostasis?

Any self-regulating process by which biological systems tend to maintain stability while adjusting to conditions that are optimal for survival.

How is the relationship between a stimulus and a response defined?

A change in the environment is the stimulus; the reaction of the organism to it is the response.

What is reproduction?

The process by which organisms replicate themselves, which may be sexual or asexual.

What is acclimatization?

Any of the numerous gradual, long-term responses of an organism to changes in its environment.

What is the definition of adaptation?

The process by which a species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of natural selection’s acting upon heritable variation over several generations.

What does the biological theory of evolution postulate?

That the various types of plants, animals, and other living things on Earth have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations.

What characterizes organization in biological systems involving more than one cell?

Having more than one type of cell and specialized cells that are grouped together to carry out specialized functions.

What is the process of natural selection?

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

What are emergent properties?

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

What is metabolism?

The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.

How is science defined?

The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

What is the definition of probability?

How likely something is to happen.

What is replication in research?

The process of repeating research to determine the extent to which findings generalize across time and across situations.

What is inquiry?

The search for information and explanation, often focusing on specific questions.

What is data?

Recorded observations.

What is a controlled experiment?

An experiment designed to compare an experimental group with a control group; ideally, the two groups differ only in the factor being tested.

What is a variable?

A factor that varies in an experiment.

How is a theory defined in science?

An explanation that is broader in scope than a hypothesis, generates new hypotheses, and is supported by a large body of evidence.

What is technology?

The application of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, often involving industry or commerce but also including uses in basic research.

What is pseudoscience?

Statements, beliefs, or practices that are claimed to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method.

When does falsification occur?

When a prediction (a logical consequence of a theory) is disproved either through observation of natural phenomena or through experimentation.

What is verification?

The act or process of confirming or checking the accuracy of: the state of being confirmed or having the accuracy of checked.

What is skepticism?

Generally a questioning attitude or doubt towards one or more putative instances of knowledge which are asserted to be mere belief or dogma.

What is denialism?

An approach that has the ultimate goal of rejecting a proposition on which a scientific consensus exists.

What is bias?

Disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair.

What is confirmation bias?

The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

What are prokaryotic cells?

A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles; organisms like bacteria and archaea are called prokaryotes.

What are eukaryotic cells?

A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles; organisms like protists, plants, fungi, and animals are called eukaryotes.

What is DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)?

A nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T).

What is gene expression?

The process by which information encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins or, in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as RNAs.

What is a producer?

An organism that produces organic compounds from $CO_2$ by harnessing light energy (in photosynthesis) or by oxidizing inorganic chemicals (in chemosynthetic reactions carried out by some prokaryotes).

What is a consumer?

An organism that feeds on producers, other consumers, or nonliving organic material.

What are the three domains of life?

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.