Biology Unit 1 Exam: Science, Measurement, Life

Scientific Method

an organized, logical way of asking questions and finding answers.

Controlled experiment

experiment where only one variable is changed at a time (others are kept constant)

Ask a question

one that you can test with an experiment. Example: Does acid affect seed germination?

Hypothesis

logical explanation or answer to the question; what do you think will happen?

Example

I think that acid rain will cause fewer seeds to germinate.

Variable

any physical factor that can change and that affects the experiment.

Independent variable

the variable (factor) that gets changed on purpose in the experiment. You change this thing (or it gets changed naturally) to find out what happens.

Dependent variable

The variable that changes as a result of the experiment (what are you testing and measuring, usually the one that gets measured at the end)

Control Group

The group in the experiment where the independent variable stays the same (Receives no treatment)

Experimental Group The group in the experiment where the independent variable is changed (Receives special treatment)

Constants (also called contros)

Everything besides the independent & dependent variables must be kept the same

Data

collected and presented using data TABLES, CHARTS, GRAPHS

Organizing data

where does the independent variable go on a data table? What about the DV?

Results and Conclusions

what happened during the experiment; usually shown as graphs, charts, or tables

Organisms composed of only one cell

unicellular

Organisms with more than 1 cell

multicellular.

Autotrophic

an organism uses energy from the environment to make its own food.

Heterotrophic

organisms do not make their own food and must obtain nutrients from the environment and/or other organisms

Homeostasis

maintaining a stable internal environment

Asexual

1 parent, offspring is identical

Sexual

2 parents, offspring are not different

digestion

breaking down large molecules into smaller ones that can be absorbed (EX - starch into glucose)

transport

moving materials around an organism, into/out of cells, and inside cells

excretion

removal of waste products from the body (EX - carbon dioxide)

control or regulation

controlling and coordinating body systems and response to environment

metabolism

combination of ALL chemical reactions that living things carry out, including respiration

reporduction

sexual or asexual

Basic units of the metric system

Liter (volume), meter (length), gram (mass)

Metric prefixes & their symbols

kilo, hector, deka, deci, centi, milli, and micro

Distance/Length

Metric rulers

Volume of Solid (Block)

Ruler

Volume of Liquid

beakers - larger liquid volume for larger amounts, graduated cylinder - for smaller amounts of liquid (more accurate than beakers for smaller volumes of liquid)

Mass

electronic scale; push "zero" and place object on scale