Unit 1: Chemistry of Life Review Questions

Matter

Element

Electronegativity

Atomic Number

Atomic Mass

Octet Rule

Chemical Bonds

Compound

Covalent Bonds

Nonpolar Covalent Bonds

Polar Covalent Bonds

Ionic Bonds

Adhesion

Cohesion

Capillary Action

Solvent

Solution

Solute

Acids

Bases

pH

Buffer

The elements that make up nearly all living matter

How are hydrogen bonds different from other types of bonds?

How does electronegativity affect the interactions between water molecules?

If O and H had the same electronegativity, what would be the properties of water?

What are the properties of water?

How do the properties of water benefit organisms?

Scientific Method

a step-by-step process used by scientists to investigate questions, gather evidence, and draw conclusions based on experiments and observations

Null Hypothesis

a baseline that scientists can test against, helping to determine if their results are significant or due to chance

Alternative Hypothesis

a opposing prediction against the null hypothesis

Negative Control Group

a group not exposed to any treatment or any treatment known to have no effect

Positive Control Group

group not exposed to the independent variable but is to a treatment known to have an expected effect

Experimental Group

group that receives experimental treatment (IV) being tested to observe its impact on the outcome (DV)

Independent Variable

the one factor that is changed between groups; what is being manipulated; x-axis

Dependent Variable

the factor that is measured and affected by the IV; y-axis

Contants

the factor(s) being kept constant for all groups to ensure only the IV affects the outcome; aka controlled variables

Statistics

methods used to collect, process or interpret quantitative data

Descriptive Statistics

methods used to summarize or describe observations/samples

Inferential Statistics

using observations to make estimates or predictions; generalizing from a sample to a wider population

Central Tendencies

the tendency of the observations to center around a particular value/category rather than spread evenly across the range/categories

Mean

the average of the data set

Median

the middle number in a range of data points

Mode

the value that appears most in a data set

Variability

the measure of how spread out or dispersed the values in a data set are

Range

the difference between the largest and smallest values

Standard Deviation

a measure of how spread out the data is from the mean

Standard Error

used to determine the precision of and confidence in the mean value

Chi-Square

a form of statistical analysis used to compare the actual results (observed) with the expected results

What are the 6 general steps of the scientific method?

Make an observation, Ask a question, Propose a hypothesis, Design an experiment, Collect data, and Draw a conclusion

How are hypotheses formulated?

Hypotheses are formulated by making a prediction based on limited evidence or information

What is the difference between null and alternative hypotheses?

Null hypotheses are baselines while alternative hypotheses are actual predictions

How do researchers determine their independent and dependent variables?

Researchers determine their IV and DV by determining what variable affects the other.

How are independent variables graphed?

Independent variables are graphed on the x-axis.

How are dependent variables graphed?

Dependent variables are graphed on the y-axis.

Are constants the same as controls?

When should a positive control be used?

When should a negative control used?

What are central tendencies?

What should mean central tendencies be used for?

What should median central tendencies be used for?

What should mode central tendencies be used for?

What is used to measure variability?

Is data more reliable with low or high standard deviation?

Why do researchers use SEM?

If standard error bars overlap, is the difference between the means significantly different?