__________________________________________s Notes

The Science of Biology

Chapter 1

What is science?
Science is an organized way of ____________________________and

________________ ____________________ about the natural world; a

process of gathering knowledge.

Science is also refers to the complete _____________________________

that humans have gathered over the years.

The goal of science is to provide explanations of why things happen in the

natural world, and then to use this knowledge to ____________________

future natural events.

The Scientific Method

What is the scientific method?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

What are the steps?

1. ____________________________ !

5. __________________________

2. ____________________________ !

6. __________________________

3. ____________________________ !

7. __________________________

4. ____________________________
1

__________________________________________s Notes

What are the steps of the scientific method?

!

1. Observation of Phenomena

What are phenomena?

_______________________________________________.

1.

Creating a question (5Ws & 1H)

Who, What, When, Where, Why & How.

*____________________________________________________________.

What are the steps of the scientific method?

2.

Forming a hypothesis

Definition: _______________________________________________________.
The scientists expects his hypothesis to be correct; it is a prediction.

Written as an __________________________ statement.

If part = ____________________________________________ variable.

Then part = __________________________________________ variable

What are the steps of the scientific method?

3.

Controlled Experiment - tests the hypothesis. Has two parts:

Control group ___________________________; for comparison

Experimental group _______________________________________

2

__________________________________________s Notes

What are the steps of the scientific method?

4.

Controlled Experiment - What are the variables?

Manipulated/Independent variable ___________________________________;

it is the difference between the control & experimental groups.
____________________________________________________________.
!
!
Responding/Dependent variable the change that is caused by the manipulated

variable. ________________________________________________________.

What are the steps of the scientific method?

5.

Analyze Data & Make Conclusion

What is data?

______________________________________________

Two types of data:

A. ___________________________________ (numbers)

B. ___________________________________ (descriptive)

Conclusion: Is the hypothesis correct? Why?

6.

Repeat

Why? Consistent data provides ___________________________ to support

the hypothesis.

What are the steps of the scientific method?

7.

Peer Review: Other scientists review your work and give their opinions on the
validity of your conclusion.

__________________________________________s Notes

How is this done?

A. E-mail, Skype, FaceTime, etc.

B. Presentations at a conference, webinars, etc.

C. Publish in a scientific journal like Nature or Science

The Scientific Mindset

What type of attitudes benefit a scientist?

_____________________: essential for any scientists

_____________________: essential skill that allows one

to refuse to accept explanations without solid evidence

_____________________: helps to create elegant

experiments

The Difference between hypothesis & theory

What is a theory?

________________________________________________________________.

Book Definition: A well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of

observations and hypotheses that enables scientists to make accurate predictions
about new situations.
Scientists use theories to help make _______________________, but theories are
not laws. A theory can be changed or discarded with the discovery of new
evidence.

__________________________________________s Notes

All theories/hypotheses need to avoid ____________________________ (a

particular preference or point of view that is not scientific). Peer review is
designed to eliminate bias.

Studying Life
What is biology?

____________________________. Bio = life; logy = study of

What are some of the branches of biology?

_______________________ study of animals

_______________________ study of plants

_______________________ study of lifes chemistry

_______________________ study ancient life

Characteristics of Life
What are the characteristics of life?

1.

___________________________________

2.

___________________________________

3.

___________________________________

4.

___________________________________

5.

___________________________________

6.

___________________________________

7.

___________________________________

8.

___________________________________

__________________________________________s Notes

Characteristics of Life
What are the characteristics of life?

1. All living things are made up of cells.

!
!

_______________________________ made of many cells; must

have specialized cells (cells that have special shapes & functions)
_______________________________ made of only one cell

Characteristics of Life
What are the characteristics of life?

!
!

2. A living things reproduce.

Two types of reproduction:

A. ___________________________ offspring is genetically

identical to the parent.
!
Pros: easy to do. Cons: no genetic variety
B. ___________________________ offspring is genetically
different than the parents

!
!

!
!

!
!

Pros: lots of genetic variety

Cons: harder to do

Characteristics of Life
What are the characteristics of life?

3. All living things use a universal genetic code.

All organisms use ____________________ to pass on information to the next
generation. DNA contains the information to produce __________________.
Proteins ______________________________________________________.

__________________________________________s Notes

Characteristics of Life
What are the characteristics of life?

4. All living things grow and develop.

!

_______________________________ get bigger by producing more cells

or making the cells that one has bigger.

_______________________________ change in form and function. Some

of the cells of the organism can do new things. This is often done through a

process called ________________________________________________.

What are the characteristics of life?

5. All living things obtain and use materials and energy.

Materials = the basic ____________________________

!
(carbohydrates, lipids, proteins & nucleic
!
acids)
!
Energy = the__________________________________.
Typically stored in __________________________.

Characteristics of Life
What are the characteristics of life?

!
!
!

6. All living things respond to their environment.

!
!

_________________________ = environmental signal that

cause a response

__________________________________________s Notes

7. All living things maintain a stable internal environment.

This process is known as _________________________________. A stable

internal environment makes the chemistry of life easier to occur.

Characteristics of Life
What are the characteristics of life?

!
8. Taken as a group, living things
evolve.

Evolution occurs by a process called

_________________________________. Individuals with the best traits

reproduce more often and pass on these good traits to the next generation.

Characteristics of Life
Levels of Biological Organization

________________________: group of
similar cells working togetherOrgan:
group of similar tissues working
together
________________________: members of
same species in a given area
________________________: many
populations in an are

________________________: community
plus nonliving (abiotic) factors

________________________: all the places

on the planet where life exists