Chapter One - Studying Life

Question 1

what is biology?

Answer 1

the scientific study of organisms, living and fossil

Question 2

first characteristic of life:

Answer 2

made of a common set of chemical compounds

Question 3

second characteristic of life

Answer 3

made up of cells

Question 4

third characteristic of life

Answer 4

use molecules from the environment to make new biological molecules

Question 5

fourth characteristic of life

Answer 5

extract energy from the environment and use it to do work

Question 6

fifth characteristic of life

Answer 6

contain genetic information that enables them to develop, function, and reproduce

Question 7

sixth characteristic of life

Answer 7

use a universal genetic code to build proteins

Question 8

seventh characteristic of life

Answer 8

regulate their internal environments (homeostasis)

Question 9

eight characteristic of life

Answer 9

exist in populations over time

Question 10

what are the different levels of biological organization?

Answer 10

atoms, small molecules, large molecules, cells, organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere

Question 11

what is the lowest level of organization that can perform all activities required for life?

Answer 11

a cell

Question 12

what is inductive reasoning?

Answer 12

inductive reasoning uses observations or facts to develop a tentative hypothesis or answer. it goes from something specific to something general

Question 13

what is deductive reasoning?

Answer 13

deductive reasoning is used to predict what facts would also have to be true if they are compatible with the hypothesis. it goes from something general to something specific

Question 14

define hypothesis

Answer 14

a hypothesis is a tentative answer to a question from which testable predictions can be generated

Question 15

characteristics of a hypothesis

Answer 15

a hypothesis must be testable, and must have the potential of being rejected by direct observations and experiments

Question 16

Darwin’s first big idea in biology

Answer 16

descent with modification: all species share a common ancestor and have diverged from one another gradually over time

Question 17

Darwin’s second big idea in biology

Answer 17

natural selection: the differential condition of offspring to the next generation by various genetic types belonging to the same population - this is the mechanism of evolution as the environment determines which organisms survive
ex: limbs of a frog evolving for varied environment

Question 18

what is the scientific method?

Answer 18

1. make observations
2. ask a question
3. form a hypothesis
4. make a prediction
5. design and conduct an experiment
6. use statistical tests to evaluate significance of results

Question 19

what is qualitative data?

Answer 19

qualitative data is descriptive and refers to things that can be observed but not measured such as colors or emotions

Question 20

what is quantitative data?

Answer 20

quantitative data is anything that can be counted or measured

Question 21

what is a control?

Answer 21

a control is that which receives no treatment in an experiment and acts as a basis for test results

Question 22

what is an independent variable?

Answer 22

an independent variable is that which receives treatment and is always going to be what is manipulated from one experimental group to the next
(x-axis)

Question 23

what is a dependent variable?

Answer 23

a dependent variable is that which is a measurable outcome. it is what you are directly measuring as a response to what you initially set up
(y-axis)

Question 24

what were the major events in the history of life on earth?

Answer 24

1. Earth formed over around 4 billion years ago
2. Temperatures cooled
3. Surface water formed
4. Nucleic acids formed
5. Life appeared less than 4 billion years ago
6. Around a billion years later, photosynthesis begins occurring
7. Then, eukaryotic cells appear
8. Shortly after, multicellular organisms began occurring

Question 25

The three domains of life

Answer 25

Archaea, Bacteria, Eukarya

Question 26

prokaryotes

Answer 26

prokaryotes are unicellular, have a single outer membrane, and do not have a nucleus

Question 27

eukaryotes

Answer 27

eukaryotes have an outer and inner membrane, have a nucleus, possess membrane bound organelles, and are multicellular

Question 28

DNA’s role in evolution

Answer 28

Changes in DNA can cause mutations which are adaptations that help organisms evolve

Question 29

what is evolution?

Answer 29

evolution is the change in genetic composition of populations over time