Definitions
Characteristics of Living Things
Scientific Method
Theory, Law, or Hypothesis?
Miscellaneous
Random facts that have absolutely nothing to do with science.
100
We use this word to refer to any living thing that has the necessary characteristics of life.
An organism.
100
True or False: One of the basic characteristics of living things is the ability to sustain movement.
False-- many organisms, like plants, cannot really move.
100
List out the steps of the scientific method.
1.) Problem/question
2.) Gathering information
3.) Generate hypothesis
4.) Perform experiment
5.) Analyze data
6.) Draw conclusions
100
A scientific idea that has been proven to be true in all cases.
Scientific Law
100
What is biology?
The study of life.
100
JK, this one has to do with science. (Somewhat). In the television series the Magic School Bus, what was the name of Ms. Frizzle's pet lizard?
Liz
200
A group of organisms that are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
Species
200
Explain to me what homeostasis is and give me a real life example of it.
(Any reasonable answer works).
200
I was interested in seeing how type of fertilizer affects tomato plant growth. I divided my tomato plants into 3 groups. One was given an acidic fertilizer, one was given a basic fertilizer, and one was given a neutral fertilizer. Identify the independent variable, dependent variable, and control group from my experiment.
IV: type of fertilizer
DV: plant growth
Control: basic fertilizer
200
Is this a hypothesis, theory, or law? All living things are made of cells.
Law
200
Characterize the following entities as either "biotic" or "abiotic":
(You must get them all correct to receive the points)
1.) Rock
2.) Water
3.) Moss
4.) Bacteria
5.) Air
6.) Humans
7.) Mushrooms
Abiotic, abiotic, biotic, biotic, abiotic, biotic, biotic
200
What is the only mammal that lays eggs?
The duck-billed platypus.
300
The ability of an organism to react and change to fit is surroundings
Adaptation
300
Human beings have brains that are wired to be responsive to the faces of other human beings. When a baby sees his/her mother’s face, he/she will often stop crying and his/her levels of stress hormones will decrease. What characteristic of life is this an example of?
Responding to stimuli.
300
I'm interested in whether or not drinking Coca-Cola raises heart rate. I went to the library to research this and read that caffeine (a product in coke) tends to raise HR. Next, I designed an experiment where some students drank water and others drank coke and tracked their heart rate every 10 minutes. I recorded my data and calculated an average HR for each group. The water group's average HR was 65 bpm while the coke group's average HR was 80 bpm, so I concluded that drinking coke likely increases HR. What part of the scientific method did I forget?
HYPOPTHESIS. I never made a hypothesis. After doing my research, I should have hypothesized "if people drink coca-cola instead of water, their heart rates will increase."
300
Is this a hypothesis, theory, or law? Some evidence seems to suggest that upon reactions with electricity, inorganic molecules can be made into organic molecules.
Theory
300
Give me an example that describes this characteristic of life "all organisms respond to stimuli."
(Any reasonable answer works).
300
If you add the year that the titanic sank to the year that the great Depression started, what number would you get?
(Recommend using paper and a pencil to check the math. No calculator allowed).
1912 + 1929 = 3841
400
What is bias and how could it affect science experiments/reporting?
(I'll give any good answer credit).
400
While there is some debate on this, thus far, scientists have not defined viruses as living things. Viruses cannot replicate, unless they have a host because they lack the basic cellular machinery to do so. Additionally, viruses don't have the cellular machinery to take in nutrients and convert the nutrients to energy. Instead, they just hijack the energy of the cell they infect. Based on this blurb of information, which three characteristics of living things do viruses clearly lack?
1.) Reproduction (can't replicate without host)
2.) Made of cells (said viruses lack basic cellular machinery).
3.) Take in nutrients (said viruses can only get energy by hijacking the energy of cells they infect).
400
I was interested to see how type of fertilizer affects plant growth. I split my tomato plants into 4 groups:
- One watered with water in the morning
-One watered with fertilizer A in the afternoon
-One watered with fertilizer B in the evening
-One watered with fertilizer C at night.
After 2 weeks, I tracked the plant growth. What part of my experiment went wrong?
Watering different times each day. You only want the variable you are studying (fertilizer) to vary across groups).
400
Give me an explanation of how a scientific theory differs from a hypothesis and how a hypothesis might turn into a scientific theory.
(Credit for any reasonable answer).
400
After decades of antibiotic use, more and more bacterial strains have become resistant to penicillin. (Penicillin— the drug once commonly used to kill these bacteria, is no longer able to kill them). What is this an example of?
Evolution
400
Yesterday was 9/11, one of the historic events that the US always remembers. What historic event on 12/7 is also remembered?
Pearl Harbor
500
The question of just because something can be done, should it? Dealing with the morality of science, rather than the logic of it.
Ethics (the ethics of science)
500
Name and describe all 7 of the characteristics of living things.
1.) Made of cells-- (self-explanatory).
2.) Maintain homeostasis-- (maintain inner balance, even in changing outer conditions).
3.) Respond to stimuli-- (react to environment)
4.) Grow -- (get bigger, cells divide)
5.) Reproduce-- (make more of themselves).
6.) Take in nutrients (eat)
7.) Excrete waste (remove organic byproducts)
500
Create a problem/question of your own that you are interested in. Then, walk me through the entire scientific method of how you would go about investigating that question.
(Credit for any correct answer).
500
Is this a hypothesis, theory or law? Sleeping an average of 8 hours before the night of the regents exam will improve students' test scores by at least 10 points.
Hypothesis
500
Describe the difference between descriptive research and quantitative research and give me an example of each.
(Any reasonable answer accepted).
500
What year did I graduate from Fonda?
2020