Exam #1 Flashcards
What are the different stages of a growth curve model? (population dynamics)
lag phase, exponential phase, stationary phase, death phase
As of January 2024, what is the human population?
8 billion
What is an exponential growth chart?
“J” curve; displays rapid, nonlinear growth
what is a sigmoidal growth chart?
“S” curve; displays growth that eventually levels off, stabilizing due to availability of resources
What are 4 key factors of population growth (explain them)?
birth, death, immigration, emigration
What does N mean in a growth curve?
size of the population
Carrying capacity
max population a particular environment can support
Likely carrying capacity for Earth
ultimately unknown, China and India surpassed 1 billion, not expected that other countries will reach that
How has the annual global growth rate changed over time?
projections show a decline from 1980 - 2100, indicating reduced fertility rates
Replacement Level Fertility (RLF)
the level of fertility at which a couple has enough children to replace themselves; ~2 children per couple (accounting for infant death) - 2.1 to 2.5 children
How has the total fertility rate (TFR) changed?
it is declining, showing that people are having fewer children
Current projections of population
population expected to peak around 10 - 11 billion around 2090, 2084, and then level off and eventually decline
Correlation between poverty, contraception, and education and fertility rates?
high poverty, poor contraception, and minimal education, especially for girls correlates to higher fertility rates; vice vera
Biology
the study of life; study of the living condition
What are the natural sciences?
Physics, Chemistry, and Biology; they all build off of each other/intertwine
How does a population pyramid work?
males on one side, females on the other; shows percentage of ages in a country
wider on the bottom indicates high fertility and rapid growth, smaller on the bottom indicates decline in population growth, about the same shape throughout indicates stable growth
What strategies can control population growth?
universal access to contraception, birth control, and abortion
eradication of gender bias
guaranteed secondary education for everyone (especially girls)
proper sex education for everyone
ending financial rewards for having children (tax reductions)
increasing economic status of general population
shifting age ranges of fertility so that people are having kids when they are older
What does biology try to understand?
How inanimate molecules built a highly ordered and complex interactive system that exhibits emergent properties
Emergent Properties
characterize life within a cell
Aim of modern biology
interpret the properties of living things within the structure of their molecules → large focus on molecular and chemical structure and how that impacts cell functions
Core tenets established by Biology
all life is carbon-based, shares carbon-based chemistry
life NEEDS water to survive
life is capable of self-replication (“spontaneous generation” is false, as life cannot be created from nothing; all cells comes from preexisting cells)
Independent variable
what is being manipulated/changed and applied as a treatment
Framework of Scientific Method
- ask a question/make an observation
- conduct background research on prior literature
- develop a hypothesis
- conduct an experiment under controlled conditions
- record results
- analyze results and data
- conclusion determines if hypothesis was supported or falsified (disproven)
- communicate results to the public (publish) or perish
Dependent variable
what is being measured → want to see how the manipulation of the independent variable impacts the dependent variable; modified by treatment
Control variable
stays the same; does not change, serves as a baseline
Experimental controls
set of experimental conditions where everything is identical except for one variable
Hypothesis
an educated guess; a formal, tentative, testable explanation based on observations and assumptions
Inductive reasoning
specific to general; taking a specific example and applying it to a general idea or theory
hypothetico-deductive model
involves forming a hypothesis that is conceivably falsifiable by a test of observable data, experiments can help one deduce a general answer to hypothesis
Deductive reasoning
general to the specific (if… then logic); taking a broad theory or idea and applying it to a specific case or scenario
What are some ways to present data?
figures, pictures, tables, graphs (bar charts, line graphs), etc.
Ironic Science
non-testable hypothesis that appears scientifically based
examples of ironic science
nuclear winter and a meteor that caused dinosaur extinction
When did Earth form?
around 4.6 billion years ago
nuclear winter
proposed by carl sagan, posited that explosions of nuclear weapons would lead to build-up of soot, smoke, and debris in the atmosphere that would block sunlight, reduce the temperature significantly, and destroy life on Earth
Meteor extinction of dinosaurs
Chicxulub crater; impact crater near Yucatan Peninsula believed to be responsible for mass extinction of ~75% of life on Earth
When does the first evidence of life date back to?
around 3.5 - 3.7 billion years ago
How old is the universe?
13.7 billion years
Common elements for life
carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen
Supernova
a collapse of a dying star, releases energy
Light year
distance it takes for light to travel in a year
3 domains
bacteria, archaea, eukarya