1.1 Vocab
an organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the natural world
What is science?
the variable that is deliberately changed by the scientist
What is an independent variable?
a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations and hypotheses and that enables scientists to make accurate predictions about situations
What is a theory?
cells from two parents unite to form the first cell of a new organism
What is sexual reproduction?
living things are made up of these units
What are cells?
What is the natural world?
the act of noticing and describing events or processes in a careful, orderly way
What is an observation?
the variable that is observed and that changes in response to the independent variable
What is the dependent variable?
a particular preference or point of view that is personal, rather than scientific
What is bias?
all organisms store the complex information they need to live, grow, and reproduce in a genetic code written in this molecule
What is DNA?
the universal genetic code that cells are based on
What is DNA?
the number of IVs in a controlled experiment
What is 1?
a logical interpretation based on what scientists already know
What is an inference?
information gathered by scientists
What is data?
a signal to which an organism responds
What is a stimulus?
most scientists use this system when collecting data and performing experiments
What is the metric system?
the 8 characteristics of life
What are: DNA, grow & develop, stimulus, reproduction, homeostasis, metabolism, made up of cell, taken as a group they evolve?
this type of researcher may look at a salt marsh and immediately ask, “What’s that plant? Why is it growing here?”
What is curious?
a scientific explanation for a set of observations that
can be tested in ways that support or reject it
What is a hypothesis?
the variable that is measured
What is the dependent variable?
the combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials
What is metabolism?
a single organism produces offspring identical to itself
the information coded in DNA forms an unbroken chain that stretches back this amount of time
What is 3.5 billion years?
experiments on human subjects are sometimes not possible because of this/these
an experiment in which only one variable is changed. All other variables should be kept unchanged, or controlled
What is a controlled experiment?
this group is exposed to the same conditions as the experimental group except for one independent variable
What is a control group?
keeping the environment relatively stable, even when external conditions change dramatically
What is homeostasis?
this field of study includes many overlapping fields that use different tools to study life from the level of molecules to the entire planet
What is biology?
specialized cells build these
What are tissues?
evolutionary change links all forms of life to this
What is a common origin?