Basic Science Review/Introduction to Biology

  1. What is biology?
  2. Which branch deals with heredity?
  3. Which graph shows change over time?
  4. At which stage of scientific thinking are scientists most likely to consider the data and conclusions of other scientists to propose new experiments?
  5. Which type of graph shows percentages?
  6. Which branch of biology deals with studying reptiles and amphibians?
  7. Broken glassware can lead to yet another dangerous situation. What is most likely to occur after the breaking of laboratory glassware?
  8. All of the chemical processes used to build up or break down materials are called an organism’s______.
  9. Dr. Foster was studying the effects of zinc on the common cold. She hypothesized that zinc would shorten the duration of the common cold. She conducted a study in which patients were given daily doses of either zinc or a placebo. After the course of the study, Dr. Foster discovered that the patients who took the zinc felt better, on average, 1.6 days earlier than those in the placebo group. As a result of this research, what would be the next step in the scientific process?
  10. Which problem can NOT be answered by experiment?
  11. What is the BEST way for scientists to determine whether their data are showing a significant trend or not?
  12. An explanation of the data that tells what relationship exists between the variables in the investigation is a(n) ______.
  13. During an experiment, which factors are observed and measured?
  14. The state of maintaining internal balance is known as ______
  15. Why are rival theories MOST likely to be important for the scientific process?
  16. If you were a(n) ______, you would study how organisms interact with their environment.
  17. If a scientific experiment yields results that are consistent with the expectations of the hypothesis, what should the scientist do with the hypothesis?
  18. Scientists use observations and data to form and test______.
  19. A scientist noticed that the number of salamanders in ponds in the Rocky Mountain were declining. This was a(n) ______.
  20. The science of naming and classifying organisms is known as ______.
  21. List the steps of the scientific method in the correct order.
  22. What is a scientific law?
  23. The English physician Ronald Ross wanted to try to find the cause of malaria. Based on his observations, Dr. Ross suggested that the Anopheles mosquito might spread malaria from person to person. This suggestion was a ______.
  24. List and describe the characteristics of living things.
  25. Nicki conducted an experiment on earthworms. Each day she recorded the length and mass of the earthworms. She placed this data in her table. What kind of data did she collect?
  26. Terry decided to conduct an experiment with 10 groups of marigolds. She cared for the marigolds in the exact same way except for one group of five in which she gave them an extra 10 mL of water. This factor was a(n) ______.
  27. What is the most reliable resources of scientific information?
  28. The table shows the speed of sound as it travels through air, water, and glass. Which conclusion is supported by these data?

Speed of Sound in Different Media

MediumSpeed of Sound (meters/second)

Air (20ºC)343

Water (20ºC)1,482

Glass 5,640

  1. Describe scientific theory.
  2. You conduct an experiment and find that your data do not support your hypothesis. What should you do?
  3. The most frequently occurring laboratory accident involves which type of equipment?
  4. Which type of graph would best show the head circumference norms in newborn babies from birth to 1 year?
  5. Mrs. Smith’s biology class was doing a laboratory experiment. Jenny dropped a test tube and cut herself. What should Jenny do?

*Be able to construct a graph and answer questions about it.