unit 1: chemistry of life

topic 0: biology review and an intro. to statistics

  1. what are the 6 general steps of the scientific method?

-make an observation→ask questions→ form a hypothesis→ create an experiment→ collect data→ draw a conclusion

  1. how are hypotheses formulated?

a hypothesis is formed by a testable explanation through an observation


  1. null vs. alternative hypotheses

a null hypothesis is that there is no effect or no difference between the two groups of data. the observations are a result of chance. however, an alternative hypothesis is that there is a relationship/effect between the two groups of data. Using both hypotheses provides a baseline to which we can use to compare the sample results to.


  1. how do researchers determine their independent and dependent variables?

the independent variable is the cause or the factor that the researcher changes/controls. the dependent variable is the outcome that is measured.

ind= x-axis ; categories like the time or temperature

dep= y-axis ; the measured data or response.