Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is science?
- collection of facts
- process for understanding the world
- involves objective observation and experimentation
- explains the world around us
What is life?
A physical state characterized by the ability to replicate and the presence of metabolic activity.
Biodiversity
The variety and variability among all genes, species, and ecosystems.
Organisms use of _____ ______to build themselves & ________
genetic information
reproduce
Scientific literacy
A general understanding of the basics of biology/other sciences, the scientific method, and the social, political, and legal implications of scientific information.
- ability to use the process of scientific inquiry to think creatively about real-world issues related to biology
- communicate these thoughts to others
- integrate these ideas into decision making
Give two examples of biological issues that significantly affect our lives
global warming, fossil fuel use, stem cell research, and genetically modified foods
Superstition
The irrational belief that actions or circumstances that are not logically related to a course of events can influence its outcome
Scientific method
The process of finding the answers to natural phenomenas that involve making observations, constructing hypotheses, testing predictions, experimenting, and drawing conclusions and revising them if necessary.
If something isn’t discovered or explained via the scientific method, then it is explained via…
systematic, orderly observations/examinations
empirical
based on experience and observations that are rational, testable, and repeatable.
How does science differ from other ways of acquiring knowledge about the world?
Science is empirical. Empirical knowledge is based on experimentation and observation. Empirical results can be tested again and again and corrected as needed.
What are the characteristics of a scientifically useful hypothesis?
A useful hypothesis must establish mutually exclusive alternative explanations for a phenomenon and must generate testable predictions
A useful hypothesis must establish mutually exclusive alternative explanations for a phenomenon and must generate testable predictions
If the data are inconsistent with the hypothesis, the hypothesis is inaccurate and must be rejected or revised in light of this new information.
Placebo effect
frequently observed phenomenom in which people respond favorably to any type of treatment
Double blind experiment
Neither the subject nor the doctor administrating the tablet knew it contains, eliminating any bias or influence related to the treatment before analuzing the results