The Nature of Science Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core scientific concepts, models, experimental methods, and key biology terms from the lecture notes.

Science

The process of gaining knowledge and investigating the universe through observation, posing questions, and experimentation; a fact-driven exercise that is demonstrated rather than asserted.

Theory

An explanation for a very general class of phenomena or observations that are supported by a large body of evidence.

Hypothesis

A testable statement used to explain phenomena or observations, offering explanations for more tightly focused questions.

Prediction

A measurable or observable result in an experiment that must be correct if a hypothesis is valid.

Geocentric Model

An ancient Greek theory stating that the Earth was the center of the Universe and that all other objects appeared to revolve around it.

Heliocentric Model

A fully predictive mathematical model of a sun-centered solar system proposed by Copernicus in 1543, with similar theories formulated by Islamic scholars in the 1300s.

Characteristics of a Scientific Hypothesis

Criteria that require a hypothesis to be testable, falsifiable, measurable, reproducible, and objective.

Controls

Replicates in an experimental design or observational sampling scheme that do not receive the experimental manipulation.

Observational Study

A valid form of scientific study that involves no explicit experimental manipulation, relying instead on careful observation of specific phenomena and often using statistical techniques to control for variation.

Batesian Mimicry

A theory predicting that a harmless species mimics the coloration of a dangerous species for protection, but loses that protection when the dangerous species is absent.

Cellular Theory

A criteria framework for life stating that the cell is the simplest unit, acquiring and using energy, responding to the environment, regulating function, growing, developing, reproducing, and evolving.

Prion

A highly contagious misfolded protein that cannot be broken down and transforms nearby proteins.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

A 100% fatal, highly contagious prion disease transmitted through body fluids that infects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose.