Chapter 1: The Scientific Stiudy of LIfe
Which of the following involves the use inductive reasoning?
-It always seems to rain when my arthritic knee starts feeling sore. -I must be allergic to dairy, because every time I eat ice cream or yogurt, my stomach hurts. -We never seem to use the "required" textbook in class, so I'm not buying one for this class until I have to.
Rank the following levels of structure/organization from the smallest (at the top of the list) to the largest (at the bottom of the list).
1. atom 2. molecule 3. organelle 4. cell 5. tissue 6. organ
What is a theory?
A well substantiated explanation of an observation or idea
Which of the following is/are true about life?
All living organisms use energy. Some organisms can use nonliving sources to provide energy.
What is an inherited characteristic or behavior that enables an individual to survive better and reproduce more successfully than without the inherited characteristic?
An adaptation
Jasmin uses diversity indices to see if fungal diversity significantly differs between the upper and lower sites.
Analysis
Marcus runs some statistics on his distance data to see if he can find any significance in his study.
Analysis
The smallest portion of an element which retains the characteristics of the element is known as a(n) .
Atom
The _______ includes the parts of Earth and its atmosphere where life can survive.
Biosphere
What term refers to all parts of the planet that can support life?
Biosphere
What is the genus and species of Organism 3 in this mostly fabricated taxonomy table?
Bipedia sneakeri
In a park there are groups of squirrels, trees, bushes, and countless other groups of the same species. Collectively, all these groups of species are called a(n)
Community
What is the term for all the populations that occupy the same location at the same time?
Community
The cell's genetic instructions are encoded in the molecule called
DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid
Jasmin makes collections of fungi, spending equal times searching the upper and lower portions of the trees in the forest. Then, she goes back to the lab to identify these specimens.
Data Collection
Marcus uses remote-controlled toys of different sizes to serve as "predators" to approach frogs at a pond shore, and he records the distance between predator and frog as the frogs jump.
Data Collection
When someone uses general scientific principles to predict specific outcomes of experiments, what kind of reasoning are they engaged in?
Deductive reasoning
The process an organism goes through to change from a simpler cellular organization to a more complex cellular organization is called _____.
Development
A rain forest, and the nutrients that cycle through it, is an example of a(n)
Ecosystem
What word describes the living and nonliving components of a location?
Ecosystem
Living things repair internal structures, recycle materials, build new structures, and metabolize; these activities require the use of _____.
Energy
Which domain is characterized by having both unicellular and multicellular members whose cell or cells contain organelles?
Eukarya
What are the three domains into which all organisms are typicall organized?
Eukarya Bacteria Archaea
The changes in allele frequency in a population over multiple generations is called .
Evolution
What is the name given to the change in the frequency of alleles in a population over time?
Evolution
One characteristic of a living organism is that it increases in size or number of cells. This is called
Growth
What is the nutritional type of an organism that consumes other organisms or takes in carbon in a reduced form?
Heterotroph
After a search of the literature, Jasmin proposes that there is just as great a diversity of fungi found above 2 meters on a tree trunk as there is below 2 meters in this part of the forest.
Hypothesis
Marcus thinks that frogs vary the proximity to which they allow predators to approach based on the size of the predator.
Hypothesis
What is a testable answer to a well framed scientific question?
Hypothesis
Which of the following are characteristics of the best scientific experiments?
Include a control group Have a large sample size Have standardized variables
In an experiment, the variable that affects what is being measured is called the __________ variable.
Independent
What are the characteristics of a well formed hypothesis?
It must be testable It must be falsified or supported by collected data or observations
What function is performed by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)?
It's the genetic information.
Which of the following is an example of deductive reasoning?
Joan chose to fire her assistant on Friday, because she heard that is better than doing so the rest of the week.
During a research trip to the rainforest, Jasmin notices that there are fungi growing up in the trees that may not have been accessed as readily as those on the ground.
Observation
On a walk around a pond Marcus sees that small frogs on the shore only allow him to get within 5 feet before jumping into the water.
Observation
In a human body, the heart, lungs, kidneys, and pancreas are all examples of
Organs
Marcus writes up and sends out his experimental results for other scientists to critique.
Peer review
Organisms that use energy from sunlight and obtain nutrients from non-living sources are called _____.
Photoautotrophs
Which group of organisms is characterized primarily by photoautotrophs?
Plantae
Which group of organisms is characterized primarily of photoautotrophs?
Plantae
Which of the following are organisms within the domain Eukarya?
Plants Fungi Animals Protists
A group of koi fish living in a pond is an example of a(n)
Population
What term refers to a group of the same species living in the same place at the same time?
Population.
Which of the following are characteristics of all living things?
Reproduction, growth, and development Energy conversion Organization Evolution of populations of organisms Maintenance of internal constancy
Which of the following are characteristics of living things?
Show internal organization Ability to transform energy Homeostasis Responsiveness to the environment Populations of living things evolve Adapts Ability to reproduce
Which of the following is the correct way to manually calculate the median of a set of numbers?
Sort the numbers in ascending order, then choose the middle number as the median average
What is the amount of "spread" in a set of data called?
Standard deviation
What technique or approach would a scientist use to determine if the results from one experiment were different enough from another experiment to be significant (that is, due to something other than chance)?
Statistical analysis
Which of the following is the correct way to manually calculate the average of a set of numbers?
Sum the numbers, then divide this by the number of numbers
Would a characteristic or trait that favored the reproductive success of an organism increase or decrease in frequency in a population?
The characteristic or trait would increase in frequency
Scientists make observations of the natural world and in response formulate questions to be answered. What are the characteristics of a good scientific question?
The question must have at least one answer that can be falsified or supported with evidence. The question must have at least one answer that can be tested.
Which of the following are characteristics shared by the cells of all organisms in all domains?
Their cells all possess ribosomes Their cells all contain cytoplasm Their cells possess a cell membrane They are composed of at least one cell
What are the collections of cells called that compose organs?
Tissues
What are the functions of DNA?
To pass genetic information from generation to generation To encode proteins To account for differences between species To account for similarities between closely related organisms.
True or False: A chemoheterotroph obtains energy from reduced organic chemicals from the consumption of other organisms.
True
True or False: A person who objectively observes and accurately describes patterns of tree growth is behaving in a way consistent with good scientific practice.
True
True or false: Maintaining a certain amount of water in the cell is a form of homeostasis.
True
Which of the following is/are autotrophs?
a fruit tree a photosynthesizing cyanobacterium
An organism's survival and reproduction may be enhanced with an inherited characteristic or behavior called a(n).
adaptation
Organisms that are better __________ to the environment have higher fitness and will leave more offspring.
adapted or suited
What is a structure that consists of tissues that are organized to interact and carry out specific functions?
an organ (Reason: An organ is a structure consisting of tissues organized to interact and carry out specific functions.)
Select all of the following that are smaller than the level of organ.
atom tissue molecule cell
At the smallest scale in the organizational hierarchy, the building blocks used to build molecules are called
atoms or atom
The basic building block of life, and the biological level at which the properties of life are first observed is the
cell
An experiment should have a _____________ group that differs from the experimental group in only one factor.
control
The group in an experiment which provides a basis for comparison is called the __.
control
Jayd sets up an experiment to test his hypothesis that chimpanzees have the ability to learn language because other ape species have language learning capacity. In formulating this hypothesis and designing his experiment, Jayd uses _____ reasoning.
deductive
The variable that changes in response to something the experimenter controls in an experiment is known as the _________ variable.
dependent
An investigation that aims to test a hypothesis or prediction is better known as a(n)
e
Organisms that undergo adaptation do so in response to a changing
environment or stimuli
One characteristic of living organisms is that they have adapted to respond to changes in their
environment, environments, surroundings, habitat, or niche
Natural selection is the mechanism for ______ that selects for adaptations.
evolution
Scientific inquiry could be either descriptive or
experimental or hypothesis-driven
A(n) __________ is a well-supported theory that no educated person questions the validity of.
fact, law, or scientific law
Each type of organism is assigned a unique, two-part name called the
genus and species
Experiments can be designed to test a
hypotheses, hypothesis, or prediction
A(n) ___________ is an educated guess to explain an observation.
hypothesis
An experiment collects data to support or reject a(n)
hypothesis
Dr. Bloo notices an absence of coneflowers within 15 feet of a river. She hypothesizes that coneflowers are sensitive to root rot. What type of reasoning did Dr. Bloo use?
inductive
Sample size and sampling error are ______.
inversely proportional
Inductive reasoning
involves the use of details to make an overarching principle or statement.
The greater the sample size, the ____________ the chance of sampling error affecting the experimental results.
lower, lesser, smaller, or less
When two or more atoms are chemically joined they form a(n) ______.
molecule
Groups of atoms bonded together form structures called
molecules or molecule
Science provides a process to study questions about _____.
observable phenomena the natural world
If an organism obtains carbon in the form of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and converts sunlight energy into chemical energy, then its nutritional type is said to be
photosynthetic, photoautotrophic, photosynthesizer, photoautotroph, autotroph, autotrophic, producer, or primary producer
The teacher and all of the students in a biology class at 8:10 am on Mondays and Wednesdays in room 201 is an example of a(n) _____.
population.
Which of the following are characteristics of all types of cells?
possess genetic material possess a cell membrane possess ribosomes possess cytoplasm
Statistical significance of experimental results measures the probability that the results occurred
purely by chance.
The number of individuals examined in an experiment is called the
sample size
A freshwater sponge begins to deteriorate in acidic water. This is an example of _____.
sensitivity to the environment
Variables in a treatment that are held constant across all treatment groups are called ____________ variables.
standardized, controlled, or control
A(n) ______________ is a well-tested explanation for a natural phenomenon.
theory
All living organisms are organized into ______ domain(s).
three
Groups of specialized cells that function together are known as
tissues
Which of the following are ways your body uses energy to stay alive?
to metabolize to digest food to repair damaged cells to build new structures
A changeable aspect of an experiment is called a
variable
In an experiment, a variable is _____.
what is being adjusted