Ch. 1

How is biology defined?

The study of living things and how they interact with each other and their internal and external environments

What are natural sciences?

The sciences concerned with the physical world and its phenomena (event/occurrence) and processes and uses quantitative data

What is scientific inquiry?

Uses evidence from observations and investigations to create logical explanations and answer questions

What is scientific reasoning?

The process of using logical and evidence-based thinking to understand and explain natural phenomena. It involves making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting experiments, analyzing data, and drawing conclusions

what is inductive reasoning?

Makes a generalization from specific observations and facts

What is deductive reasoning?

Uses available information, knowledge, or facts to construct a valid conclusion. Uses generalities to predict specific results that can be tested

Descriptive science vs. hypothesis-based science

Describes and documents observations. It usually involves the use of inductive reasoning, whereas hypothesis-based science begins with specific questions or problems and formulates potential answers or solutions to those questions/problems that can be tested. This usually involves deductive reasoning

What is the scientific method?

The Scientific Method is the process that describes how scientists perform investigations to provide a systematic and rational approach to answer questions about the natural world. The goal is to eliminate bias and be as objective as possible. This can also be used by people that are not scientists

A supported hypothesis

For the scientific method, when you are curious about something you would do an experiment and you should already have a hypothesis in mind. So, to check if your hypothesis is supported you do the experiment(s), and if it is, keep doing the same experiment to verify that it is supported

A not supported hypothesis

Change your hypothesis because of the new results and then you can test that. Nothing in science should be something that you do once – you keep doing it and share with other people once you’ve got your results to see if you have done something correctly. If you get enough predictions confirmed then you can try to work towards a theory

Who was credited as the first person to document this process?

Sir Francis Bacon (1562-1626)

What is a hypothesis?

Best described as a prediction. Something you can come up with and later one will be verified by other people and oftentimes your hypothesis might be one part of this overarching theory idea

What makes a hypothesis valid?

A valid hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable, meaning that experimental results can disprove it

What is a variable in an experiment?

A variable is any component of an experiment that can be measured and changed. Each experiment should have one or more variables and one or more controls

What is a control group and an experimental group?

A control group is the group in the experiment that is not manipulated in any way.  It serves as the basis for comparison to the experimental group, which can have only one of its variables manipulated at a time

What is a theory?

An explanation. A lot of evidence that backs it up, it’s not something that one person did. Something that was checked by many scientists over decades

Basic science vs. applied science

(aka “pure” science) is pursued simply to gain and expand knowledge, whereas applied science (aka “technology”) is to solve real-life problems

What does serendipity mean?

When some scientific discoveries are made by accident

What is negative feedback?

If something is going up, it will go back down, it opposes whatever change has occurred. This is what helps us stay alive! this is the most common and is long term

What is positive feedback?

This is where you go with the change and is very useful if you’re trying to get to a set result only occurs at specific times to allow us to get to specific ends

What is the first big idea?

“the process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life” Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution. Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry. Life continues to evolve within a changing environment.

What is the second big idea?

“biological systems utilize energy (ATP) and molecular building blocks (DNA, proteins) to grow, reproduce (split in 2), and to maintain homeostasis (balance, symphony/harmony)” Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter

What is the third big idea?

“living system store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes” We can detect things and respond to them (like from our environment)

What is the fourth big idea?

“biological systems interact, and these interactions possess complex properties” All biological systems are composed of parts that interact with each other. These interactions result in characteristics not found in the individual parts alone

What is taxonomy?

The science of naming, describing and classifying all living things on Earth. Taxonomists use a combination of available morphological, genetic, biochemical and behavioral data to identify, describe and place organisms (living, currently undescribed and extinct) in groupings (taxa; singular taxon) from largest and most general (domain) to smallest and most specific (species or subspecies) based on shared characteristics

Who developed the system taxonomy?

Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus