Bio unit 1 terms

biology

study of life

biologist

scientists who study life

organism

living beings that display properties of life

gene

the unit of hereditary

genome

all the genetic info and organism contains

cell

simplest self-reproducing unit that can exist independently

species

group of interbreeding organisms that produce fertile offspring

evolution

the unifying principle of biology-change overtime- explains unity and diversity of life

natural selection

mechanism of evolution- some individuals survive and reproduce more than others as a result of variation passed through generations

energy

ability to do work- essential to life

energetics

examines the properties of energy and how its distributed in biology, chemistry, or physical processes

dna

carrier of genetic info in all organisms

system

group of things that function together as a whole

biological system

biotic and abiotic systems that interact

scientific inquiry

process scientists use to seek questions and answers about the world in an orderly way

observation

act of viewing world around us

hypothesis

tentative explanation for one or more observations. makes prediciton that can be tested

controlled experiment

researcher sets up 2 groups to be tested. conditions change, but a variable is added in one group

test/experimental group

group exposed to variable

control group

group not exposed to variable

independent variable

variable manipulated to test hypothesis

dependent

result of the experiment, varies based on the independent variable

negative control group

expectation is that we’ll see no effect

positive control group

recieves variable with a known result

null/ alternative hypothesis

predicts the intervention has no affect/ predicts the intervention has an effect

theory

general explanation of the world supported by large body of experimental evidence and observations