Biology Test Review: Scientific Method and Characteristics of Life

Fill-in-the-blank practice flashcards for biology test preparation covering scientific methodology, experimental design, biomolecules, and the characteristics of living organisms.

A __________ is a specific, testable, and falsifiable proposed explanation or prediction.

hypothesis

A __________ is a broad explanation of natural phenomena supported by a large body of repeatedly tested evidence.

theory

A __________ is a concise statement or mathematical relationship describing a consistent pattern in nature.

law

Scientific __________ explain how or why phenomena occur, whereas scientific laws describe consistent patterns.

theories

In an experiment, the __________ variable is the factor the researcher intentionally changes or manipulates.

independent

In an experiment, the __________ variable is the outcome measured by the researcher.

dependent

The __________ group serves as a baseline comparison group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

control

Conditions kept constant across every experimental group so they do not affect the outcome are called __________ variables.

controlled

Having multiple independent experimental units in each treatment level to make results more reliable is called __________.

replication

Science relies on testable and falsifiable claims, while __________ relies heavily on testimonials, anecdotes, or cherry-picked examples.

pseudoscience

The Law of Conservation of Matter states that matter is not created or destroyed in an ordinary chemical reaction, but rather __________ are rearranged.

atoms

The chemical equation for photosynthesis is $\text{6CO}_2 + \text{6H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow \text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 + {\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_}$.

$$\text{6O}_2$$

The four major elements of life represented by the acronym CHON are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and __________.

nitrogen

Carbon can form __________ covalent bonds, allowing it to create stable chains, rings, and branches.

four

The property of water where water molecules stick to other surfaces, contributing to capillary action, is called __________.

adhesion

Water molecules stick to each other due to hydrogen bonding, a property known as __________.

cohesion

Monomers are joined together by removing water in a reaction called __________ synthesis.

dehydration

Polymers are broken apart into monomers by adding water in a reaction called __________.

hydrolysis

Animals store excess glucose as the polysaccharide __________.

glycogen

Proteins consist of building blocks called amino acids joined together by __________ bonds.

peptide

Nucleotides are the monomers of nucleic acids and are composed of a sugar, a phosphate, and a __________ base.

nitrogenous

The single clearest indicator that an entity is a living organism is being made of one or more __________.

cells

All complete cells must possess four basic features: a plasma membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes, and __________.

DNA

The process by which organisms regulate internal conditions within a suitable range despite external changes is called __________.

homeostasis

Viruses are generally classified as nonliving because they are __________ and cannot reproduce or perform metabolism independently.

acellular