Chapter 1: Introducing Biology

Question 1

Definition of biology.

Answer 1

Biology (生物學) is the scientific study of organisms.

Question 2

What are the different branches of biology? State their definition.

Answer 2

1. Anatomy (解剖學): Bodily structure of organisms
2. Cytology (細胞學): Cells
3. Ecology (生態學): Interactions between different organisms and their surroundings
4. Genetics (遺傳學): The ways the characteristics of organisms are inherited and varied from the previous generation to the next
5. Physiology (生理學): Bodily functions of organisms
6. Taxonomy (分類學): Classification of organisms (based on shared characteristics)

Question 3

What are the characteristics of living organisms?

Answer 3

1. Nutrition: Taking in food for growth and repair, energy, health maintenance
2. Growth: ↑ing size and complexity
3. Respiration: Oxidizing glucose to release energy
4. Excretion (排泄; ≠ egestion): Removing metabolic waste from the body to maintain a relatively constant internal environment (homeostasis 體內平衡)
5. Irritability / Sensitivity (感應性): Detecting to stimuli (刺激) in the surrounding and respond
6. Movement: Being able to move from one place to another
7. Reproduction: Producing offspring

Note: Some organisms (e.g. viruses; only show charactertistics of organisms in living cells) may not have 1 or more of the above charactertistics.

Question 4

What are the differences between excretion and egestion?

Answer 4

Excretion (小便): Removal of metabolic waste out of the body by excretory organs e.g. kidneys (urea in urine), skin (urea in sweat), liver (bile), lungs (carbon dioxide)
* e.g. Urine is excreted

Egestion (大便): Removal of waste, undigested food substances from the digestive tract
* Faeces are egested

Question 5

What are the significance of studying biology?

Answer 5

• Appreciate the living world
• Improve scientific thinking skills
• Apply biological knowledge to daily life

Question 6

What are the steps involved in the scientific method (科學方法)?

Answer 6

1. Making observations
2. Asking a question
3. Proposing a hypothesis (假說; i.e. proposed answer to the question)
4. Making a prediction
5. Testing the hypothesis through experiments
   Include: IV, DV, CVs, Control setup (≈Experimental setup)
6. Drawing a conclusion
   Results = Prediction (Hypothesis is supported);
   Results ≠ Prediction (Hypothesis is falsified / rejected) → Propose a revised hypothesis for testing again / Perform the experiments again

Question 7

Definition of independent variable (IV).

^include: purpose of IV

Answer 7

Independent variable (IV; 自變量) is the factor under investigation.

Purpose: To study its effect on dependent variable (DV).

Question 8

Definition of dependent variable (DV).

Answer 8

Dependent variable (DV; 因變量) is the factor that is measured.

Question 9

Definition of controlled variable (CV).

Answer 9

Controlled variable (控制變量) is the factor that is kept the same.

Question 10

What are the differences between a control set-up and an experimental set-up?

Answer 10

The control set-up is identical to the experimental set-up except that the factor under investigation (i.e. independent variable) is absent.

Question 11

What is the aim of setting up a control set-up?

Answer 11

To show the dependent variable (DV) is due to the independent variable (IV), but not due to other factors.

Question 12

What is the nature of science?
List some examples.

Answer 12

The nature of science (科學本質) is about what science is and how science works.

• Science advances through reasonable skepticism.
• Doing science requires creativity and imagination.
• A good scientific experiment must include carefully designed controls.
• Science is a process of ongoing inquiries.
• Scientists have to explore using different techniques and methods to find out a good solution to a problem.
• Scientists build on the work of other scientists.