Module 1: Biology Intro and scientific Method

What are the characteristics that define living organisms? 

• The ability to assimilate and use energy.

•  The ability to respond to their environment.

•  The ability to maintain a relatively constant internal environment.

•  Have evolved from other living things.

•  The ability to reproduce.

•  Composed of one or more cells with information encoded by genetic information (DNA).

• Are highly organized when compared to inanimate objects.

• The ability to grow and develop.

Know the steps of the scientific method?

• ask a question

• do background research

• construct a hypothesis

• test with an experiment

• procedure working

• analyze data & draw conclusion

• Communicate results

What must a hypothesis be for it to be considered a good hypothesis? 

• It needs to be logical based on observations and background research 

• An explanation based on observations and assumptions 

  • It must lead to predictions that can be tested by making additional observations or by performing experiments.

What is a variable? 

• any factor, trait, or condition that can be changed, measured, or controlled within an experiment or biological system.

biotic variables

• Biotic variables are living or once-living organisms (e.g., plants, animals, bacteria).

Abiotic Variables

• Abiotic variables are the non-living physical and chemical elements (e.g., sunlight, water, temperature, soil).

What qualifies something as a scientific theory? 

• Every scientific theory is backed up by a wealth of supporting evidence. It is therefore improper to say that a scientific theory, such as the theory of evolution, is “just” a theory to imply that it is untested or lacking in evidence.

Why aren’t creationism and intelligent design taught in the science classroom? 

• They don't always meet the foundational importance of scientific theory. 

What is the chief unifying theme in biology? 

• Evolution

Characteristics of Living Things: 

• The ability to assimilate and use energy 

• The ability to respond to their environment 

• Maintain relatively constant internal equilibrium 

• Have evolved from other living things 

• The ability to reproduce 

• Composed of one or more cells with information by genetic information (DNA) 

• Are highly organized when compared to inanimate objects 

• The ability to grow & develope 

Qualitative

• quality —---> descriptive

  • Data often taken in the form of recorded description 

Quantitative: Quantitative: quantity

• quantity

  •  expressed as numerical measurements, organized into tables  & graphs  

Null Hypothesis

• statement of nothing happening

Alternative Hypothesis

• statement in a statistical test that asserts a change, difference, or relationship exists in a population. 

Types of Logical Reasoning

•  Inductive reasoning

• Deductive reasoning

 Inductive reasoning

• derives generalizations from a large number of specific observations.

  • Careful observations and data analyses, along with generalizations reached by induction, are fundamental to our understanding of nature.

Deductive reasoning

• uses general premises to make specific predictions.

  • Initial observations may give rise to multiple hypotheses.

  • We can never prove that a hypothesis is true, but testing it in many ways with different sorts of data can significantly increase our confidence in it.

Experiments

• An experiment is a scientific test, carried out under controlled conditions.

  •  The results must be analyzed using tables, figures, and statistics.

    • Summary/Descriptive Statistics

    • Inferential Statistics

The Limits of Science

• A hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable!

• Supernatural, philosophical, and religious explanations and experiences are outside the bounds of science.

  • To do science, you must measure and record data…

Evolution is the gradual modification of populations of living things over time.

•  Differential reproduction.

•  The appearance, behavior, and physiology of living things, have been and are being shaped by the influence of other living and non living factors