The Nature of Science

Scientific Facts

Observations that have been confirmed through repeated experimentation and are accepted as true.

Scientific Theory

Well-founded explanations that is supported by large amounts of data and has multiple sources of evidence.

Scientific Laws

Descriptive statements that summarize observed phenomena and predict future outcomes under specific conditions.

Scientist associated with the study of heredity

Gregor Mendel

Scientist associated with the study of evolution

Charles Darwin

Scientists who confirmed DNA was the genetic material in cells

Hershey and Chase

Scientists who confirmed DNA was a double-helix

Watson and Crick

Watson and Crick’s model was based heavily on whose X-ray crystallography

Franklin

Scientist associated with taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus

What is a major driving force of evolution?

Descent with modification

Precision

how close repeated values are to each other

Accuracy

how close a measured value is to the true value

What are significant figures?

Digits in a number that contribute to its precision, including all non-zero digits, any zeros between them, and any trailing zeros in the decimal portion.

Mechanical Separation

filtration via funnelsor membranes to separate mixtures based on particle size or phase.

Chemical Separation

Distillation and chromatography