Foundations of Biology - QA Flashcards (Lectures 1-3; OpenStax & Campbell Ch.1)

Question-and-answer flashcards covering core concepts from Foundations of Biology lectures 1–3, including life’s attributes, levels of organization, the scientific method, and climate change evidence and responses.

What are the key attributes of life according to OpenStax and Campbell's Foundations of Biology?

Order, sensitivity to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, energy processing, regulation, homeostasis, and the expression and transmission of genetic information (with evolution as a guiding context).

What does the phrase 'new properties emerge at successive levels of biological organization' mean?

As biological organization moves to higher levels (e.g., from molecules to cells to tissues), novel properties appear that are not present at lower levels.

List the cellular-level sequence from atoms to cells.

Atoms → Molecules → Macromolecules → Organelles → Cells.

List the organismal-to-biosphere levels.

Cell → Tissue → Organ → Organ system → Organism; Population → Species → Community → Ecosystem → Biosphere.

What is the Popperian method sequence in scientific inquiry?

Observations → Question → Hypothesis → Prediction → Experiment → Hypotheses supported or rejected.

What is the difference between a hypothesis and a prediction?

A hypothesis is a tentative explanation; a prediction is the testable expectation derived from that hypothesis.

What does Occam's Razor advise in scientific reasoning?

Prefer the simplest explanation with the fewest assumptions when explaining the data.

How do correlation and causation differ?

Correlation is a statistical association between variables; causation requires evidence from manipulation/experiments showing one variable causes the other.

What is the main driver of current climate change and what evidence supports it?

Human activities increasing atmospheric CO2; supporting evidence includes rising CO2 (Mauna Loa/Keeling curve), rising temperatures, ice melt, sea level rise, and broad scientific consensus (about 97%).

What is the Keeling curve?

The long-term record of atmospheric CO2 concentrations from Mauna Loa, showing a steady increase with seasonal fluctuations.

Name major sectors contributing to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy (electricity/heat) and transportation are dominant, with additional contributions from industry, agriculture, and waste.

What is Drawdown?

A project outlining feasible actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reverse climate change (e.g., wind and solar energy, reduced food waste, plant-rich diets).

Give examples of Drawdown solutions listed in the notes.

Onshore wind, utility-scale solar PV, reduced food waste, plant-rich diets, tropical forest restoration, improved cookstoves, distributed solar PV, refrigerant management, peatland protection and rewetting.

What paradigm shift occurred in understanding viral transmission?

Shift from 'bad air' and miasma theories to germ theory, including recognition of aerosols as a transmission mode and emphasis on hygiene.

What is the Mandela Effect, and what is the most likely explanation?

A widely remembered event (Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s) that is probably due to memory errors or confounding events, not parallel timelines.

What does the Popperian method diagram emphasize?

A cycle of observations, questions, hypotheses, predictions, experiments, and evaluation of hypotheses (supported or rejected) that informs theory.

What does P ≤ 0.05 signify in hypothesis testing?

There is a 5% or less probability that the observed result occurred by random chance; a common threshold for statistical significance.

Why can’t correlation alone establish causation?

Because a correlation can be due to confounding factors or coincidences; experiments that manipulate variables are needed to infer causation.

What is the climate science chain of causality often cited in the notes?

Human activities raise CO2 → atmospheric CO2 rises → global temperatures rise → ice melts → sea levels rise; supported by broad evidence and consensus.

What trends do climate graphs commonly show about CO2 and temperature?

A rising long-term trend in CO2 levels accompanied by an overall increase in global temperatures, with a correlation between the two.

What is the Drawdown claim about addressing climate change?

We already know feasible actions that can reduce emissions; implementing them (at various scales) can slow, halt, and even reverse climate change.

What does the scientific consensus say about climate change?

The vast majority of climate scientists agree that human activities are a primary driver of recent climate change.