Lecture 1

Question 1

What is natural history in biology, and what is it used for?

Answer 1

Natural history is the documentation of appearance, behaviour, distribution, etc. of organisms. It is typically used to provide raw materials for hypothesis testing.

Question 2

The theory that binds the biological sciences is __________.

Answer 2

Evolution.

Question 3

Explain the difference between a theory and a hypothesis.

Answer 3

A theory is defined as a “body of knowledge”, whereas a hypothesis is a prediction of what might occur, and is uncertain.

Question 4

What are the two main types of questions posed in biology, and what do they entail? Give an example of each.

Answer 4

(1) Proximate questions, that of which deal with mechanism, and do not always require evolutionary thinking (eg. what pigments make this spider pink?)
(2) Ultimate questions, which are concerned with evolutionary origins and functions (eg. why might it evolutionarily benefit the spider to be pink?)

Question 5

What are the two main approaches to scientific biological inquiry? Explain.

Answer 5

(1) observation and induction - utilizes natural history and provides raw materials for hypothesis testing
(2) hypothesis-based science - can occur after observation/induction has lead to a hypothesis
Unexpected results/new observations from experimentation can also lead to new hypotheses, etc.

Question 6

Define induction. Why is it used?

Answer 6

Creation of a statement of generality from accumulated instances. It is used to make generalizations in biology when otherwise unable to, such as things that are not testable through experiments.

Question 7

What is the deductive approach (also known as the hypothetico-deductive approach)?

Answer 7

An instance in experimentation where the outcome is predicted from a generalization