Biology Chapter 1

What are emergent properties?

Characteristics that arise through interactions among smaller components in an organism

How is discovery-based science conducted?

Data are collected and analyzed without a pre-conceived hypothesis.

Which of the following are the two main scientific approaches that help us understand biology?

Discovery-based science and Hypothesis testing

Researchers typically follow two general types of approaches while conducting biological investigations:

Discovery-based science and hypothesis testing.

True or False: A hypothesis can be proven to be correct through observation and experimentation.

False A hypothesis always remains provisional and cannot be proven. A hypothesis may be disproved, but never proven, by experimentation.

True or false: All valid scientific discoveries are the result of the scientific method.

False Reason: Discovery science can lead to valid scientific discoveries.

Scientific discoveries can result from which of the following?

Gathering new information The scientific method

Which of the following are incorporated into biological theories?

Hypothesis testing, Observations and Laws of other scientific disciplines

Systems

Living systems are interconnected and interacting. The interactions of living systems result in emergent properties. Human vision is an emergent property of a complex arrangement of different cell types found in the eye and brain.

Ideally, control and experimental groups should differ in how many variables?

1 Reason: If the control and experimental groups differ in more than one variable, it will not be possible to tell which variable is responsible.

The scientific method is also known as hypothesis testing. This strategy may be described as a five-step method:

1. Observations are made regarding natural phenomena. 2. These observations lead to a hypothesis that tries to explain the phenomena. A good hypothesis is a prediction that is testable and falsifiable. 3. Experimentation is conducted to determine if the predictions are correct. 4. The data from the experiments are analyzed. 5. The hypothesis is considered consistent with the data, or it is rejected.

In biology, a theory is best described as which of the following?

A broad explanation that is supported by a vast amount of data

Hypothesis

A prediction that must be testable and falsifiable (it can be shown to be incorrect with observations and experimentation) (Unless they show its correct)

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation for natural phenomenon. It is a proposition based on previous observations or experimental studies.

Structural models

A structural model shows the physical structures of components that make up living organisms. Biochemists and biologists have proposed many different models that depict biological structures at the cellular level and molecular level.

Which description accurately defines the scientific method?

A test of a hypothesis in order to draw an evidence-based conclusion

A scientific manuscript submitted for publication may be Blank______.

Accepted or rejected for publication. and conditionally accepted pending revisions (the paper is given revisions to revise information)

Arrange the levels of biological organization according to size, from the smallest (at the top) to the largest (at the bottom).

Atoms, molecules and macromolecules, cells, tissues, organs, organisms, population, community, ecosytem and bioshere. .

Structure and function

Basic units of structure define the function of all living things. Aquatic birds have webbed feet that can be used as paddles for swimming, while the feet of non-aquatic birds are not webbed and are better suited for grasping food and running along the ground.

Pathways and transformations of energy and matter

Biological systems grow and change via processes that are based on chemical transformation pathways and are governed by the laws of thermodynamics. Sunflower plants carry out photosynthesis in which they capture light and acquire CO2 and water, thereby allowing them to make carbohydrates.

Scientific method

Q#35

What are the characteristics of a scientific hypothesis?

Should be falsifiable (if incorrect), Must make predictions, must be testable. Hypotheses can never be proven. They can only be disproved.

Consider an experiment whose results are valid. If this experiment is conducted on multiple occasions, what would you expect to happen?

Similar results will be obtained every time.

Which branch of biology focuses on understanding how emergent properties arise?

Systems biology

Based on the 2009 conference "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education", which of the following are the five core concepts of biology?

Systems, Structure and function, Evolution, Energy and matter and Information.

Reductionism

The breaking down of complex systems into simpler components to understand them.

Discovery-based science/Discovery science

The collection and analysis of data without the need for a hypothesis.

Evolution

The diversity of life evolved over time by processes of mutation, natural selection, and genetic exchange. The long snout of an anteater is an adaptation that enhances its ability to obtain food from hard-to-reach places.

Information flow, exchange and storage

The growth and behavior of organisms are activated through the expression of genetic information. Genetic material composed of DNA provides a blueprint for the organization, development, and function of living organisms.

Why are model organisms useful to biologists?

They can be used to study biological principles that apply broadly to many species. They do this by comparing results and determining scientific principles that apply to more broadly to other species.

When should a hypothesis be rejected?

When the data from the control and experimental groups are NOT statistically different from one another Reason: A hypothesis predicts a difference between the control and experimental groups.

Mathematical models

a description of a process or a system using mathematical concepts, symbols, and diagrams. Many mathematical models are presented as one or more equations. For example, ecologists use equations to describe two different modes of population growth, termed exponential and logistic growth. Such equations allow biologists to make predictions about population growth.

Assume that the results of an experiment are statistically significant. This means that the differences observed between the experimental group and the control group ________.

are NOT likely to be due to chance Reason: If the differences between the two sets of data are significant, we can conclude that the hypothesis is consistent with the data. However, the hypothesis is NOT proven. So, we cannot say for sure that the differences are definitely due to the variable being tested.

The study of life is called

biology

Scientists often conduct their experiments in a parallel manner on two groups: an experimental group and a ______ group, one in which the key variable is kept constant.

control

Temporal models

depicts a biological process as it occurs over a short or long period of time. In cell biology some processes occur very quickly. For example, the absorption of light energy during photosynthesis occurs in less than a second. On the other hand, the evolution of new groups of species may occur on a timescale of millions of years.

Mechanistic models (also known as a physiological model)

describes the workings of the individual parts of a complex system, and the manner in which they interact. As an example, plant biologists have proposed two models, called symplastic and apoplastic transport, which describe two possible pathways by which minerals are taken into the root of a plant.

When individual components in an organism interact with each other or the environment to create novel structures and functions, the resulting characteristics are called _________properties.

emergent

If a hypothesis is supported by observation and experimentation, a researcher should ______.

fail to reject the hypothesis

If a hypothesis is supported by observation and experimentation, a researcher should ________.

fail to reject the hypothesis

To explore scientific principles that apply more broadly to other species, biologists often study _________ organisms. These models are useful to biologists.

model

A conceptual, mathematical, or physical depiction of a real-world phenomenon is called a(n)

model or scientific model

Hierarchical models

organisms, parts of organisms, or observations fall into nested levels. For example, the field of taxonomy organized species into progressively smaller groups, such as kingdom, family, and genus (plural, genera). One or more genera are found within a family, and many different families are found within a kingdom.

After a scientific paper is submitted for publication, scientists who are experts in the area evaluate the paper through _______ review process.

peer

A hypothesis must make ______ that can be tested, and a hypothesis must be ______, which means it can be shown to be incorrect.

predictions; falsifiable

The study of simpler parts of cells or organisms to understand how the entire complex system works is called ______.

reductionism

The study of simpler parts of cells or organisms to understand how the entire complex system works is called ________.

reductionism

If the results of an experiment show a statistically significant difference between two groups, a hypothesis that predicts that the two groups will have similar results should be ______.

rejected

One feature of a valid experiment is _________, which means that the same results will be obtained if the experiment is conducted again multiple times.

repeatability

A process that tests a hypothesis in order to generate a conclusion, which can be reported and then confirmed or refuted by additional studies, is called the ________ method

scientific

When differences between control and experimental data are not attributed to random chance, the data are considered _____.

statistically significant

Observations, tested hypotheses, and the laws of other scientific disciplines are incorporated into ________ that explain broad biological principles and allow predictions to be made about the properties of living organisms.

theories

A broad explanation of a natural phenomenon that is substantiated (supported) by a large body of evidence is called a(n)

theory