Name:______

Nature of Science and Biology- Chapter 1 Notes

What is Science? (1-1)

The root sci- means “______”. Science is one way of investigating the world in which we live. The goal of science is to:

·  ______,

·  ______, and

·  ______.

Science can only concern itself with questions that can be answered by tests and\or observations. Scientists use ______(process of gathering information by using your five senses) to gather ______. They also use known data to make ______(a logical interpretation of the data based on past experiences). PRACTICE…

Write 2 observations about your surroundings

______

Write 2 inferences based on the data around you

______

How Scientists Work (1-2)

Scientific investigations – describe the way scientists gather information and test ideas about nature. The Scientific Method describes only one kind of investigation which is called ______. Other investigations can be ______in nature, like describing a newly found species.

Steps to Experimental Scientific Investigation (The Scientific Method):

1.  ______– make an observation of the world around you. There are two kinds of observations:

a.  Qualitative observation –

i.  Ex:

b.  Quantitative observation –

i.  Ex:

PRACTICE…

Write 2 Qualitative observations in your class

______

Write 2 Quantitative observations about your classroom ______

2.  ______ – based on your observation, ask a question you can investigate by ______. “I wonder why? /how?”

3.  ______ - Look in ______,______, and the ______to make additional observations and research about the questions you made from your observation.

4.  ______- Propose a ______to the question being observed and researched. The statement must be ______. (“Which is best?” does not lend itself to being tested). At the end of the investigation, you will ______.

5.  Perform a controlled experiment - Develop and use the experimental design to test your hypothesis. Whenever possible, the hypothesis should be tested by an experiment in which only one variable is changed at a time. All other variables should be kept the same, or controlled.

a.  Variables: Factor within the investigation being tested

i.  ______- ______

ii. ______- ______

iii.  ______- ______

D M

R I

Y X

Repeat your experiment - ______

6.  Collect and Interpret data - (measurements) and perform analysis on the data using ______

7.  ______- State whether or not the data and evidence from your experiments supports your hypothesis

8.  Report back to the community – Experiments’ results can be used by others to help them with their own experiments. This is what keeps science progressing.

What is the difference between a hypothesis, a theory, and a law?

·  A hypothesis is ______

______

·  A theory is ______

______

·  A law is ______

______

Studying Life (1-3)

Characteristics of Living Things: all living things have all eight things in common:

Branches of Biology – biology is studied at many levels of organization from simple to complex:

1.  ______– groups of atoms

2.  ______– smallest functional unit of life

3.  ______– tissues organs, and organ systems

4.  ______– individual living system

5.  ______– Number of one specific species that live in an area

6.  ______– all the populations that live together in a defined area

7.  ______– community and its non living surroundings (biotic and abiotic factors)

8.  ______– the part of Earth that contains all ecosystems

Tools and Procedures (1-4)

Biologists use metric measurements (the SI system) to gather and interpret data.

Some common units used in Biology

Length
Mass
Time
Temperature
Volume
Density
Kilo- / K
Hecto- / h
Deka- / da
Unit (m, L, g) / -
Deci- / d
Centi- / c
Milli- / m

If you want to change a higher unit into a smaller unit, move the decimal point to the ______.

If you want to change a smaller unit to a larger unit move the decimal point to the______.

Example problems (next page):

1)  Convert 100 g to kg.

Grams are smaller than kilograms so we move to the left 3 spaces.

100.0 g = ______

2)  0.0074 kL =

kiloliter is bigger than liter so move to the right 3 spaces

Scientific Notation - to make large or small numbers easier to read

Numbers that are very small (many numbers after the decimal) have negative exponents

Numbers that are very large (many numbers before the decimal) have positive exponents

The goal is to have one non-zero number to the left of the decimal with an exponent at the end that tells you how many decimal places and in which direction you would move to get to the original number

Scientific Notation is really only useful if it will make the number shorter by eliminating zeros.

Example:

1)  0.0000000001 kg is easier to read as 1.0 x 10-10 kg

2)  1094600000 cm is easier to read as 1.0946 x 109 cm

Practice problems:

1)  1980084600000 g = ______

2)  0.00034568 cm = ______

3)  14698 g = ______

Graphing- how a scientist shows patterns in data collected.

There are several kinds of graphs; some graphs are more useful then others to communicate different types of data.

1.  ______- compares two things in which items on one axis may affect the items on the other axis. Line graphs are best used to show changes over time (Ex. Amount of CO2 in the atmosphere over the last 6 decades).

2.  ______- compares two or more values. (Ex. Number of students with red hair in each class)

3.  ______- effective in showing proportions or percentages of a whole thing. (Ex. Comparing the percentage vote that each candidate received in the election)

Always draw lines with a ruler, use pencil, and use map pencils when necessary. Make sure your graph contains all components:

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1.  Title – tell what you are comparing or
displaying (be descriptive).

2.  Horizontal axis – label and give scale.

3.  Vertical axis – label and give scale.

4.  Key – give meanings of the symbols
and colors used on the graph.

5.  Data points – clearly marked, and
label them if you do not have grid line.

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