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Biology, is the science that studies living organisms 5 qualities of living organisms:

Scientific Study of Life

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Organized Energy use Maintenance of internal constancy Reproduction, growth, development Evolution

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Dr. I. Kravetz

What is life?

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For example: Correct sequence for levels of biological organization occurring beyond the individual: Population - community - ecosystem biosphere Another example of hierarchal pattern: Correct sequence of taxonomic categories beginning with domain in descending order are Kingdom - phylum - class - order - family - genus - species

Constant stream of energy required to maintain organized life Energy from the environment is used to Build new structures Repair old ones Reproduce

Biological Organization / Taxonomic Categories

Life requires energy

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2 basic ways
Asexual organism produces offspring virtually identical to itself
Bacteria, some plants, fungi and animals

Sexual genetic material from 2 individuals unites to form new third individual
Benefit of tremendous variation Widespread among plants, fungi, and animals

Adaptation inherited characteristic or behavior that enables an organism to survive and reproduce successfully in a given environment 2 important facts: 1. Populations produce more offspring than can survive 2. Sexual reproduction results in genetic variability Mutations (changes in DNA) occur

Some organisms can reproduce either way depending on the conditions

Life reproduces itself, grows and develops

Natural selection enhanced reproductive success of certain individuals from a population based on inherited characteristics.
Individuals with the better combinations of genes survive and reproduce These individuals make up more of the population over time When the environment changes, different combinations of traits may be better.

Taxonomy is the classification of life Hierarchical 2 parts to species name

ie: Homo sapiens

The more features 2 organisms share, the more taxonomic levels they share

Evolution change in genetic makeup of a population

Natural selection is one mechanism of evolution

Taxonomic hierarchy describes lifes diversity

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Domain is the largest taxonomic category

Bacteria, Archaea Eukarya Eukarya all eukaryotic cells have nuclei (houses DNA) and many eukaryotes are multicellular Bacteria and archaea superficially similar single celled with DNA free in cell (not in a nucleus) Archaeans different from 2 other domains

Domains and kingdoms

Scientific Method: General way of organizing an investigation It begins with observations Framework to consider ideas and evidence in a repeatable way It can be applied to problems encountered in everyday life
Scientists study the natural world

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Observations:

Scientific Method
The correct sequence of steps in the scientific method could be summarized as follows: - Observation

May be historical incidents or accidents May be based on existing knowledge and experimental results Person may make mental connections among previously unrelated observations

- Form Hypothesis - Design an Experiment - Collect Data

Hypothesis Tentative explanation based on previous knowledge Must be testable to be useful A scientific hypothesis must be testable If an hypothesis is wrong, there is no test that will prove it. It can be proven to be false Cannot be proven true with 100% certainty

Hypothesis proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but, that if true, would explain certain facts or phenomena; "a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory" guess: a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Hypothesis

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Hypothesis A: "Our universe is surrounded by another, larger universe, with which we can have absolutely no contact."
This statement may or may not be true, but it is not a scientific hypothesis.
By its very nature it is not testable. There are no observations that a scientist could make to tell whether or not the hypothesis is correct. Ideas such as Hypothesis A are interesting to think about, but science has nothing to say about them. Hypothesis A is a speculation, not a hypothesis.

Experimentation and data collection:

Some investigations are discovery based Some use experiments Deciphering DNA sequence is discovery based Demonstrating what that gene does requires experiments

Scientific Hypothesis Must Be "Testable".

Sir Karl Popper / Hypotheses: http://www.batesville.k12.in.us/physics/phynet/aboutscience/hypotheses.html

Analysis and peer review:

After collecting data, investigator reevaluates hypothesis Feedback loop to rethink hypothesis May write a paper In peer review other scientists evaluate validity of methods, data, and conclusions

Sample size number of individuals

Larger number gives more meaningful results

Variables changeable element of an experiment

Independent variable manipulated variable. An independent variable is a factor that can be varied or manipulated in an experiment (e.g. time, temperature, concentration, etc). It is usually what will affect the dependent variable. Dependent variable shows response. In an experimental procedure the dependent variable is the one that actually is being measured by the investigator. It's what the investigator thinks will be affected during the experiment. Standardized variables held constant for all subjects

Experimental design: Variables

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Controls provides a basis for comparison to the experimental group:

The variables held constant. The possibility that other factors are affecting the outcome must be eliminated. For example, testing different coffee beans that grow faster, the scientist must ascertain that no differences in the type of fertilizer used exists, or amount of H2O, variations of temperature, or day length exist.

Theory is an explanation for natural phenomenon Differs from a hypothesis

Theory broader in scope than a hypothesis Has more supportive evidence than a hypothesis Hypothesis is tentative, theories reflect broader agreement A good theory is predictive has predictive power Ties together many existing observations

Controls

Theories are comprehensive explanations

Scientific method is neither foolproof nor easy to implement Experimental evidence may lead to multiple interpretations Even the most carefully designed experiment can fail to provide a definitive answer Researchers may misinterpret observations or experimental results

Theory A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. A theory is valid as long as there is no evidence to dispute it. Therefore, theories can be disproven. Basically, if evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, then the hypothesis can become accepted as a good explanation of a phenomenon.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistry101/a/lawtheory.htm

Limitations of scientific inquiry