Bio Lab Investigation Exam

what is science?

science is a process of discovery that allows us to connect isolated facts into a coherent and comprehensive understanding of our world and the universe

why is science important?

Scientific knowledge can improve the quality of life at many different levels

what are some limits of science?

• doesn’t make moral judgments

• doesn’t make aesthetic judgments

• decisions about the applications

• conclusion about the supernatural

what is an experiment?

a procedure carried out to make a discovery, test and hypothesis or demonstrate a known fact

what is discrimination when referring to a experiment?

an experiment should be able to clearly discriminate between different hypothesis

what is replication when referring to an experiment?

experiments must be repeated enough times for the results to be analyzed statistically

what is controls when referring to the experiment?

normal biological variation, research bias, and environmental variation are all factors that can skew results; therefor, scientific control groups provide a reliable baseline to compare the results with

positive control

this group is expected to have result that shows that the procedure is working and capable of producing results

negative control

this control makes sure that non confounding variable has affected the results

what is accuracy in experiment measurement?

how close a measurement is to the true value

what is precision in experiment measurement?

how close repeated measurement are to each other

what are the steps in the scientific method?

1. observations of a phenomenon

2. parking questions

3. forming a hypothesis

4. a prediction

5. conducting experiments

6. conclusion

hypothesis

is a proposed explanation for a observed phenomenon, not a guess, must be testable, not and if… then statement

when making a hypothesis, consider:

• testability

• parsimony

• scope

• fruitfulness

• conservation

null hypothesis

assumes no relationship between the independent and dependent variables

alternative hypothesis

proposes that the observation are the result of a real effect

primary structure

an amino acid sequence that gives a protein its genetic information it codes for

secondary structure

a protein’s structure is its ability to form hydrogen bonds between the amine hydrogen and carboxyl oxygen atoms contained in the backbone of the peptide

tertiary structure

each unique polypeptide folds up into a uniquely 3D shape by virtue of interactions between amino acids and interactions in environment

reactions that stabilize tertiary and quaternary structures

• ionic bond

• disulfide bridge

• hydrophobic interactions

• van der waals

• hydrogen bonds

quaternary structure

associations between separate polypeptides that the environment factors have an effect in (pH and temp)

proteins functions

• catalytic activity

• structural support

• storage

• transport

• cellular communications

• movement

• defense against foreign substance

solution

homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances

solvent

substance that makes up most of the solution

solute

what the solvent dissolves

concentration

refers to the amount of solute per unit of solution

spectrophotometry

a method of assessing concentrations of solutes, which takes advantages of the light-absorbing properties

spectrophotometer

instrument that lets you make such a measurement of light absorbance

Beer’s law

states that absorbance is directly proportional to the solute concentration

enzymes

catalysts used to speed up the rate of the reaction by binding temporarily to the potential reactants

amylase

an enzyme that catalyze the hydrolysis of starch into sugars

three categories of amylase

• alpha

• beta

• gamma

alpha amylase

found in some animals, plants, fungi and some bacteria. present in saliva and aids in the digestion process of starchy foods

beta amylase

mostly found in bacteria, fungi, and plants

gamma amylase

is found in animals and some bacteria

reaction

a process in which chemical bonds are made or broken

rate calculating

mg starch reduced/ time

when are enzymes are saturated

when they reach the V max

standard deviation

measure of how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean

standard error

allows for two samples sets to be compared

t-test

statistical test used to determine whether there is a different between two independent groups

what are some aspects of scientific investigation?

• science is empirical

• it exposes wrong explanations

• advances through disproof

• “the pursuit of ignorance”

inductive reasoning

is logically uncertain: if the assertions are true, the conclusion may follow

deductive reasoning

is logically definite: if the assertions are true, the conclusion must follow

what is the process of science?

1. observations are made about phenomenon

2. these observations spark questions

3. a testable hypothesis is formed to explain observations

4. a prediction is developed based on hypothesis

5. hypothesis is tested by conducting experiments

6. based on data collected, a conclusion about the hypothesis is drawn

principle of parsimony/ Occam’s razor

states that the simplest explanations are the ones that are usually correct

scientific theories

well-confirmed explanation brough together via inductive reasoning

what are termites?

• insect in order Isoptera

• help recycle dead wood

• colonies be up to 12 million

• consists of 3 castes

termites workers

• wingless, sterile and blind

• males and females

• clear bodies

termite soldiers

• wingless, sterile and blind

• males and females

• only one that has like hrons

termites reproductives / alates or swarmers

have wings to find a mate and once they do they drop their wings