AP Biology: Getting Down With Science Notes (Inquiry, Big Ideas, and Experimental Design)

Flashcards covering Big Ideas, science practices, inquiry, hypotheses, variables, controls, data types, and experimental design from the lecture notes.

What are the four AP Biology Big Ideas and their core focus?

Big Idea 1 Evolution: evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. Big Idea 2 Energetics: biological systems use energy and building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain dynamic homeostasis. Big Idea 3 Information storage and transmission: living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes. Big Idea 4 Systems interactions: biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions exhibit complex properties.

What are the Science Practices in AP Biology?

Concept explanation; analyze visual representations; determine scientific questions and methods; represent and describe data; perform statistical tests and data analysis; develop and justify scientific arguments using evidence.

What are enduring understandings, learning objectives, and essential knowledge in AP Biology's Big Ideas framework?

Enduring understandings are long-term takeaways; learning objectives define what a student must be able to do to progress toward enduring understandings; essential knowledge describes the knowledge required to perform the learning objective.

How many units are in the course and which unit covers Chemistry of Life?

There are 8 units. Unit 1: Chemistry of Life; Unit 8: Ecology (Big Ideas 1-4); Units 2–7 cover Cell Structure and Function, Cellular Energetics, Cell Communication and Cell Cycle, Heredity, Gene Expression, Natural Selection.

What are the two main steps in scientific inquiry as described in the notes?

Making observations and forming hypotheses.

What is inductive reasoning?

Deriving generalizations from a large number of specific observations.

What is deductive reasoning?

Deriving specific results from general premises.

How is a hypothesis commonly formatted and what do the variables represent?

If …, then … (because …); If is the manipulated variable, Then is the responding variable, Because is optional.

What is a null hypothesis (H0) and its purpose?

H0 states there is no difference between two groups or that observations are due to chance; it is the hypothesis researchers try to disprove.

What are alternative hypotheses (H1, H2, …) and their purpose?

Hypotheses that propose a real effect or difference to be tested after the null; H1, H2, etc. are used to explain possible outcomes.

What are the components of a well-designed experiment?

Independent variable (IV); dependent variable (DV); control group (+ and/or -); constants; # trials (minimum 3).

What is the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable?

Independent Variable: the factor deliberately changed. Dependent Variable: the factor measured, which depends on the IV.

What is a constant in an experiment?

Factors that stay the same throughout the experiment.

Why is it important to ONLY change the independent variable?

To ensure that observed changes in the dependent variable are due to the IV and not other factors.

What is a control group and why are controls essential?

Controls help eliminate experimental errors and biases; they validate statistical analysis and increase the reliability of results; controls are not the same as constants.

What are positive controls and what is their purpose?

A group not exposed to the experimental treatment but exposed to a treatment known to produce the expected effect; ensures an effect occurs when it should.

Provide an example of a positive control from the notes.

Using Tylenol as a positive control to show headache relief when testing a new drug.

What are negative controls and why are they used?

A group not exposed to any treatment or exposed to a treatment known to have no effect; establish a baseline and check that no effect occurs when none is expected (e.g., placebo or water).

Give an example of a negative control from the notes.

A placebo or water used as a negative control in drug testing.

What is the minimum number of trials typically required in experiments?

Three trials is the minimum accepted number of trials.

What is bias and how can it affect experiments?

Bias is a systematic error or influence that can affect results and interpretation; it reduces reliability of findings.

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data?

Qualitative data: descriptive observations using senses. Quantitative data: numerical measurements collected with instruments.

What is a theory vs a law vs a hypothesis?

Hypothesis: testable explanation that can be disproven. Theory: broad, well-supported summary of hypotheses that can generate new hypotheses; never becomes a law. Law: a statement of fact often expressed mathematically that describes an observation; it does not explain how or why.

What is AP Biology Big Idea 1?

Evolution: evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.

What is AP Biology Big Idea 2?

Energetics: biological systems use energy and building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain dynamic homeostasis.

What is AP Biology Big Idea 3?

Information storage and transmission: living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.

What is AP Biology Big Idea 4?

Systems interactions: biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions exhibit complex properties.

What are the Science Practices in AP Biology?

Concept explanation; analyze visual representations; determine scientific questions and methods; represent and describe data; perform statistical tests and data analysis; develop and justify scientific arguments using evidence.

What are enduring understandings, learning objectives, and essential knowledge in AP Biology's Big Ideas framework?

Enduring understandings are long-term takeaways; learning objectives define what a student must be able to do to progress toward enduring understandings; essential knowledge describes the knowledge required to perform the learning objective.

How many units are in the course and which unit covers Chemistry of Life?

There are 8 units. Unit 1: Chemistry of Life; Unit 8: Ecology (Big Ideas 1-4); Units 2–7 cover Cell Structure and Function, Cellular Energetics, Cell Communication and Cell Cycle, Heredity, Gene Expression, Natural Selection.

What are the two main steps in scientific inquiry as described in the notes?

Making observations and forming hypotheses.

What is inductive reasoning?

Deriving generalizations from a large number of specific observations.

What is deductive reasoning?

Deriving specific results from general premises.

How is a hypothesis commonly formatted and what do the variables represent?

If …, then … (because …); If is the manipulated variable, Then is the responding variable, Because is optional.

What is a null hypothesis (H0) and its purpose?

H0 states there is no difference between two groups or that observations are due to chance; it is the hypothesis researchers try to disprove.

What are alternative hypotheses (H1, H2, …) and their purpose?

Hypotheses that propose a real effect or difference to be tested after the null; H1, H2, etc. are used to explain possible outcomes.

What are the components of a well-designed experiment?

Independent variable (IV); dependent variable (DV); control group (+ and/or -); constants; # trials (minimum 3).

What is the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable?

Independent Variable: the factor deliberately changed. Dependent Variable: the factor measured, which depends on the IV.

What is a constant in an experiment?

Factors that stay the same throughout the experiment.

Why is it important to ONLY change the independent variable?

To ensure that observed changes in the dependent variable are due to the IV and not other factors.

What is a control group and why are controls essential?

Controls help eliminate experimental errors and biases; they validate statistical analysis and increase the reliability of results; controls are not the same as constants.

What are positive controls and what is their purpose?

A group not exposed to the experimental treatment but exposed to a treatment known to produce the expected effect; ensures an effect occurs when it should.

Provide an example of a positive control from the notes.

Using Tylenol as a positive control to show headache relief when testing a new drug.

What are negative controls and why are they used?

A group not exposed to any treatment or exposed to a treatment known to have no effect; establish a baseline and check that no effect occurs when none is expected (e.g., placebo or water).

Give an example of a negative control from the notes.

A placebo or water used as a negative control in drug testing.

What is the minimum number of trials typically required in experiments?

Three trials is the minimum accepted number of trials.

What is bias and how can it affect experiments?

Bias is a systematic error or influence that can affect results and interpretation; it reduces reliability of findings.

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data?

Qualitative data: descriptive observations using senses. Quantitative data: numerical measurements collected with instruments.

What is a theory vs a law vs a hypothesis?

Hypothesis: testable explanation that can be disproven. Theory: broad, well-supported summary of hypotheses that can generate new hypotheses; never becomes a law. Law: a statement of fact often expressed mathematically that describes an observation; it does not explain how or why.