BIOL 214 Exam 1

What mechanisms and interactions are responsible for the diversity of life on Earth?

Adaptation

A heritable process of adjusting behavior, physiology, or structure to become more suited to a changing environment.

Fitness

The suitability of organism to survive and reproduce, and have offspring survive and reproduce.

Scientific Theory

A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that incorporates scientific facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses; cell theory, heliocentric theory, plate tectonics, gravity.

• Logical structure that ties together an otherwise bewildering collection of observations; strong predictive ability

• Not all are equally robust or equally substantiated

Scientific Fact

An observation that has been repeatedly confirmed; e.g., distribution of fossils in layers, humans have 46 chromosomes under normal conditions.

Scientific Law

A descriptive generalization about how some aspect of the natural world behaves under stated conditions; e.g., Dalton’s Law, Law of Thermodynamics, Henry’s Law, Millie’s Law.

Scientific Hypothesis

A testable statement about the natural world that can be used to construct more complex inferences and explanations (theories). An explanation of a phenomenon based on natural processes.