Natural History
Greek philosopher who taught that intellect is the highest form of reality
Aristotle
Dutch naturalist who devoted his life to microscopy
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
The special problem-solving method employed by scientists
the scientific method
The British naturalist who wrote The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man
Charles Darwin
The study of fossils
paleontology
The belief that living things can arise from nonliving things
spontaneous generation
Considered the Father of Anatomy; anatomist who wrote a monumental book called Fabrica
Andreas Vesalius
A tentative, untested solution to a scientific problem
hypothesis
The remains or impressions of plants, animals, or humans preserved in rock
fossils
In a controlled experiment, all factors are identical except the one being tested, which is this
independent variable
Early Greek naturalist who advocated spontaneous generation as the origin of life
Anaximander
The idea that all living things are composed of cells and cell products and that all cells come from preexisting cells
cell theory
A factor observed or measured to determine the results of an experiment
dependent variable
The principle that animals or plants well suited to their environment are more likely to survive than organisms poorly suited to their environment
natural selection
Hypothetical fossils that would connect one kind of organism with another kind by a series of tiny steps
transitional forms
Roman general who wrote a book called Natural History
Pliny the Elder
17th-century British physiologist noted for his studies of the heart and the circulation of blood
William Harvey
An experiment in which all factors are identical except the one being tested
controlled experiment
The "science," founded by some of Darwin's followers, of selectively breeding humans to produce a "master race"
eugenics
The idea that science can provide answers for all problems in life
scientism
Greek physician and anatomist who lived in Rome; was the absolute authority in human anatomy for over a thousand years
Galen
The philosophy that promotes the idea that the universe consists of nothing but matter and energy and has no spiritual or supernatural aspects
materialism
Reasoning from specific events in nature to their general causes
inductive reasoning
Changes within a particular kind of organism due to variations in the gene pool
speciation
The idea that living things can come only from other living things
law of biogenesis