Characteristics Of Life, Scienfific Method Flashcards
What is a biotic?
A living or once living thing
What is an organism?
Any living thing
What is an abiotic?
Something that was never living
What are first 4 characteristics of life? (Not respond, stable environment, eliminating waste, or adapt)
- living things are organized
- living things reproduce
- living things grow and develop
- living things obtain and use materials and energy
What are the last 4 characteristics of life? (Not reproduce, organized, grow and develop, or get energy)
- They respond to their environment
- They maintain a stable environment
- Living things have methods for eliminate waste
- Living things are adapted
What is a cell?
Collection of living matter enclosed by a barrier that separates the cell from its surroundings (cell membrane)
-smallest unit of an organism that is considered alive
What is reproducing? What are the two types?
Production of new organisms or cells, involves the replication of DNA molecules
-Sexual or asexual reproduction
What is growth?
An increase in size (cell number)
What is development?
A change in shape and structure of an organism over time
What is metabolism?
Combinations of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials as it carries out its life process
What are the 3 ways organisms obtain materials or energy?
- absorbs sunlight (photosynthesis)
- eats food
- breathes/respites
What is stimulus? What are the two ways of getting stimulus?
A signal to which an organism responds
Can be external (light, temperature) or internal (sugar, glucose)
What is homeostasis?
Keeping a stable internal environment
Ex: when your body temperature is low, you shiver; muscle movement creates warmth
What are adaptations? How does it occur?
Modifications that make an organism suited to its way of life and environment
Occurs through evolution via natural selection
How does natural selection occur?
- When the new variation arises that allows certain members of the species to capture more resources, these members tend to survive and to have more offspring than others
- Time, the new variation becomes more prevalent in the population
What are the 5 steps in the scientific method?
- making observations
- forming a hypothesis
- asking questions
- testing predictions
- designing an investigation
What is an observation?
When you use one or more of the senses to gather information
What is a hypothesis?
A possible explanation for a set of observations or possible answer to a scientific question
What are the parts of a good hypothesis?
- offers an explanation for an observation
- written as a definite statement and not as a question
- be testable by experimentation
- lead to predictions about the system
What is a prediction?
An educated guess about a possible outcome
What are the parts of a good prediction?
- is testible
- can lead to predictions about the research
What is an experiment? What are the two groups?
A controlled test or series of tests to determine the validity of a hypothesis
Experimental and control group
What is an experimental group?
A group in which a variable is applied (something is changed)
What is a control group?
A group in which nothing is changed, used for comparison
What is an independent variable?
The factor in an experiment that a scientist purposely changes
What is a dependent variable?
The factor in an experiment that a scientist wants to observe which may change because of the manipulated independent variable
What is data? What are the two types?
Evidence; information gathered from observations
Qualitative or quantitative
What is qualitative data?
Descriptive and non-numerical date (color)
What is quantitative data?
Data with measurements or counts that can be made (length)
What is a theory?
A concept that joins together well-supported and related hypothesis; is supported by a broad range of observations, experimentations, and data
What are the nine parts of the scientific inquiry?
- observe
- define the problem
- form a study question
- research the problem
- state the expectations (hypothesis)
- experiment and gather data
- analyze the results
- reflect on the findings
- communicate with the community
What are the parts of a good answer to the so what question?
- Summarizing the skills learned
- Scientific concepts
- Why it’s important
So what? (Scientific method)
- List the steps
- Relates to life because it helps you figure out answers to questions whether it’s scientific or not
- helps with accuracy and efficiency
So what? (Characteristics of life)
- List the characteristics
- Helps scientists decide whether they’ve found life on other planets to know exactly what counts as life
