Name:________________________________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
Date:______________________
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
Unit 1 Vocabulary: Define the following vocabulary terms:
Science
Qualitative Observation
Quantitative Observation
Inference
Hypothesis
Controlled Experiment
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Control Group
Data
Theory
Bias
Biology
DNA
Stimulus
Sexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
Metabolism
Homeostasis
1
Name:________________________________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
1-1
Date:______________________
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
What is Science? (pg. 2-9)
What are the goals of science?
What procedures are at the core of scientific methodology?
1. What is the difference between an observation and an inference? List two examples of each.
2. Compare quantitative observations vs qualitative observations. Give an example of each.
3. What are some sources of error researchers must be careful to avoid?
4. In medical studies, why must the sample size in both the experimental and control groups be quite large?
5. Why are hypotheses so important to controlled experiments? Why do you think the authors chose the marsh
grass experiment as an example if the importance of hypotheses (Fig. 1-3, pg. 6-8)
2
Name:________________________________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
1-2
Science in Context (pg. 10-15)
What scientific attitudes help generate new ideas?
Date:______________________
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
1. Describe a situation where you were skeptical of a fact you had seen or heard?
Why is peer review important?
2. Why would a scientific theory be revised or replaced?
What is the relationship between science and society?
3. What does it mean to describe a scientist as skeptical? Why is skepticism an important quality in a
scientist?
4. An advertisement claims that studies of a new sports drink show it boosts energy. You discover that
none of the study results have been peer-reviewed. What would you tell consumers who are considering
buying this product?
5. How does use of the word theory differ in science and in daily life?
6. A study shows that a new pesticide is safe for use on food crops. The researcher who conducted the
study works for the pesticide company. What potential biases may have affected the study?
3
Name:________________________________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
1-3
Date:______________________
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
Studying Life (pg. 17-25)
What characteristics do all living things share?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
1. Suppose you feel hungry, so you reach for a plum you see in a fruit bowl. Explain how both external
and internal stimuli are involved in your action.
2. Suppose you discover a new organism. What would you expect to see if you studied it under a
microscope?
3. At what levels do biologists study life?
4. A researcher studies why frogs are disappearing in the wild. What field of biology does the research fall
into?
5. Why do scientists use a common system of measurement?
6. Suppose two scientists are trying to perform an experiment that involves dangerous chemicals. How
might their safety be affected by not using a common measurement?
7. In an experiment, you need 250 grams of potting soil for each of 10 plant samples. How many
kilograms of soil in total do you need?
4
Name:________________________________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
Date:______________________
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
8. Try to think of a nonliving thing that satisfies each characteristic of living things. Does any nonliving
thing have all the characteristics of life?
Assessment:
1. Why does it make sense for scientists to test just one variable at a time in an experiment?
2. How does an observation about an object differ from an inference about that object?
3. Distinguish between an experimental group and a control group.
4. Discussing Ethics: Describe a controlled experiment that can be designed to test the hypothesis that extra HGH
helps children grow taller. What ethical issues can you imagine in actually carrying out such a study? (Hint: If
you are not sure what HGH is, do some quick research (Wikipedia would be fine for this).)
Anaylzying Data:
A researcher studied two groups of fruit flies:
Population A was kept in a 0.5 L container;
Population B was kept in a 1 L container.
1) What is the independent variable in this
controlled experiment?
2) State a logical inference based on the data
in this graph.
5
Name:________________________________________
Date:______________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
A. Watch the following Bozeman Science- Scientific Method Video:
http://www.bozemanscience.com/scientific-method/
B. Complete the Bozeman Science- Scientific Method video follower.
1. Briefly describe how Galileo Galilei disproved Aristotle’s hypothesis that “a larger object will fall at a
faster rate than a smaller object.”
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. List the ten main components to the scientific method and describe the example Bozeman is using in this
video to explain that step:
 Question: Which type of music will make a plant grow the fastest?

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3. Why is it important to only have one independent variable?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. How is the control group different from the experimental group (IV) and what is its purpose?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Why is publishing your results and important step in the scientific method?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
6
Name:________________________________________
Date:______________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
A. Watch the following Crash Course- Taboos of Science Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_dEsw1Ff1U&list=PLhWQfyIjGDq5guhBNmYeYjt3UEm1yZfYl
B. Complete the Crash Course- Taboos of Science video follower.
1. Explain how chimeras (organisms with cells from two different species) would be beneficial in
science.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. Explain why chimeras are considered “taboo,” or unethical.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. Explain how cloning (creating an “identical” copy of an organism) would be beneficial in science.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. Explain why cloning is considered “taboo,” or unethical.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. Explain how genetic engineering (manipulating an organism’s genome) would be useful in science.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
6. Explain why genetic engineering is considered “taboo,” or unethical.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
7. What are the advantages and disadvantages to discussing ethics in science?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
7
Name:________________________________________
Date:______________________
Unit 1: Chapter 1- The Nature of Biology (Parrot)
Guided Reading (pg. 2-31)
Vocabulary Review: Choose the term that best completes each sentence.
Autotrophs
Unicellular
Response
Heterotrophs
Multicellular
Homeostasis
Cell
Organisms
Stimulus
Reproduce
1. Living things are also called____________________.
2. A change in an organism’s environment that causes the organism to react is called a(n)
____________________.
3. Organisms that make their own food are ____________________.
4. Organisms that are made up of more than one cell, such as humans, are _________________________.
5. The ____________________ is the basic unit of structure in an organism.
6. Organisms that get energy by consuming other organisms are____________________.
7. An organism reacts to a stimulus with a(n) ____________________
8. An organism’s ability to maintain stable internal conditions is called ____________________.
9. To____________________ is to produce offspring that are similar to the parents.
10. Bacteria, the most numerous organisms on Earth, are ____________________organisms.
Main Ideas: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. Describe 2 or 3 needs that ALL organisms have in order to survive.
a. Do all organisms need the same amount of these things or get them in the same way?
2. Describe the difference between living and nonliving.
3. Describe the difference between metabolism and digestion.
4. Describe the difference between growth and development.
5. Describe the difference between response and adaptation.
6. Describe the difference between respiration and breathing.
7. Describe the difference between transport and movement.
8