Chapter 1: The Science of Biology
Terms
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- science
- organized way of using evidence to learn about the natural world
- observation
- use of one or more of the senses to gather information
- inference
- logical interpretation based on prior knowledge and experience
- hypothesis
- possible explanation for a set of observations or possible answer to a scientific question
- spontaneous generation
- a disproven statment that life could arise from noliving matter
- theory
- well tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations
- biology
- science that seeks to understand the living world
- anything outside the natural world
- what does biology not study?
- quantitative
- with numbers
- Why should scientists only test one variable at a time?
- If you change all three variables at once, you will not be able to tell which variable is responsible for the observed results. Only one variable should be changed at a time.
- What are the eight characteristics of living things?
- living this are made up of units called cells, living things reproduce, living things are based on a universal genetic code, living things grow and develop, living things obtain and use materials and energy, living things respond to their environment, taken as a group living things change over time, living things maintain a stable internal environment
- What are eight levels of organization at which biologists study life, from smallest to largest?
- molecules, cells, group of cells, organisms, population, community, ecosytem, biosphere