Intro to Biology - Chapter 1 Review Sheet
Name ____________________________________ Block: __
Put answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. What is Biology?
a.
Study of Life
2. What kinds of things would a biologist study? What kinds of things would a biologist not usually study?
a.
Living things (plants, animals, ecosystems)
b. Nonliving things such as rocks, books, buildings
3. What are the characteristics of living things?
a.
Made of cells
b. Respond to the environment
c. As a group, adapt and evolve over time
d. Use materials for energy (metabolism)
e. Reproduce
f.
Contain dna and pass on traits (heredity)
g. Maintain internal balance (homeostasis)
4. What are the levels of organization from the most simple to the most complex?
a.
Simplest: cell made of molecules and atoms
b. Complex: Biosphere made of many biomes and ecosystems
5. At what organizational level is a one-celled protozoan? Is there another level that it could technically fit into?
a.
It is a CELL and an ORGANISM
6. What is reproduction? Can an organism be alive if it did not reproduce?
a.
Organisms producing offspring for the survival of the species (sexual or asexual)
b. yes
7. What is a species?
a.
Organisms able to reproduce and create fertile offspring
8. My dog hears thunder and runs under my bed. What is the stimulus? What is the response? Come up with your
own example of a stimulus and response.
a.
THUNDER
b. Runs under the bed
c. Example: Plant responds to the stimulus of sunlight by growing towards the light.
9. Why should any organism respond?
a.
It is a characteristic of living things and helps them to survive
10. What is homeostasis?
a.
Maintaining stable internal conditions (example, blood glucose and insulin)
11. What are the steps to the Scientific Method? For what would someone use the Scientific Method?
a.
State the Problem
b. Gather Information (Make observations)
c. Form a Hypothesis
d. Test the Hypothesis -Design an Experiment
e. Record and Analyze Data
f.
Form a Conclusion
g. Report Results
h. Repeat
i. In order to answer a question or explain an observation in nature
12. When you collect data to form a hypothesis, that data should be accurate, credible, and relevant.
13. Where are some good places to look for reliable data?
a.
Peer reviewed journals (Science, New England Journal of Medicine)
b. Previous scientific investigations
c. Science journals
d. Textbooks
e. Credible .gov or other internet sites
14. What is the difference between an observation and an inference?
a.
Observation have actually happened based on your 5 senses…inference is a judgment based upon
previous observations or experience
15. I notice that it is raining outside and I figure my bus is going to be late. What is the observation? What is my
inference?
a.
Obs: it’s raining
b. Inf: the bus will be late
16. I want to test the claims that a commercial made about a new shampoo. How could I set up an experiment? Be
sure to define the two “groups” that I’d need and define what my two types of variables would be.
a.
Control Group: does NOT use the new shampoo
b. Treatment Group: uses the new shampoo
c. Independent Variable: Type of shampoo (new or regular) used
d. Dependent variable: how the hair looks (effect of the shampoos)
17. Why would you want a large sample size in your experimental set up?
a.
Increases the reliability of the results and decreases the errors that could be made
18. Determine the independent and dependent variables in the following experimental descriptions.
a.
A corn field is divided into four parts, each part is 'treated' with a different fertilizer to see which
produces the most corn.
i. IV: fertilizer
ii. DV: corn production
b. A teacher practices different teaching methods on different groups in her class to see which yields
the best unit test results.
i. IV: teaching methods
ii. DV: test reults
c. A doctor treats a patient with a skin condition with different creams to see which is most effective.
i. IV: creams
ii. DV: skin health
19. Name and list the differences between the two types of research.
a.
Quantitative (numbers)
b. Qualitative (descriptive)
20. What are some quantitative measurements and descriptive observations (qualitative) that I could make during my
study of the African elephants?
a.
QUANT: # of elephants, size
b. QUAL: behaviors,
Class Records of Rainfall (cm)
habitat
21. Graph the information to the
right…REMEMBER to include
all of the required parts (Title,
Independent Variable on X-axis,
Dependent on Y-axis, UNITS,
AND AXES Labelled).
Spring
Summer
Semester
School
36
46
51
35
45
48
Fall Semester
Charleston, SC
Myrtle Beach,
SC
22. You have a control group and an experimental group in your test. What is the difference?
a.
Control: doesn’t get the treatment so we can compare our results to make a conclusion
b. Experimental: gets the treatment so that we can see what our treatment actually causes
23. Give an example of experimental bias.
a.
Only testing 2 people, testing the heart rate of only males and reporting for all humans
24. What is the difference between precision and accuracy?
a.
Precision: how close together repeated measurements are
b. Accuracy: how close the measurement is to the ACTUAL value
25. What is the difference between fact and theory?
a.
Fact –Observable phenomenon that can be confirmed by scientists many times
b. Theory –a hypothesis tested over a long period of time supported by separate experiments and lines
of evidence
26. Looking at the table in #29, what are the independent and dependent variables?
a.
–Independent –Class locations and time of year
b. –Dependent –rainfall measured
27. What unit and tool would I use to measure the following items?
a.
Length of my textbook : cm, ruler
b. Temperature of my steak: Celsius, thermometer
c. How fast I ran the 100 meter dash: m/s, radar or time
d. How much water I drank after my 100 meter dash: ml, beaker
e. The difference between the mass of my biology textbook and my notebook: g, scale
28. What are ethics? Is an experiment studying whether cell phones cause cancer ethical? What about an experiment
studying if alcohol use causes birth defects? Do all humans have the same ethics?
a.
moral principles and values held by humans –not everyone’s are the same
i. it may not be ethical to treat certain groups with harmful substances such as alcohol or
cancer causing agents
29. What are some benefits and downsides to technology? Give an example of technology that has had both benefits
and downsides.
a.
Benefit –save time, make things easier…
b. Downside –create pollution, could hurt others…
c. Example –car…makes it easier to get places but causes pollution
30. How are the goals of scientific and technological design different? Example: Scientific Design studies the motion
of a car, or how a combustion engine works. Technological Design invents a better car using those studies.
a.
Scientific Investigation -Goal is to answer a question, perhaps advance the knowledge of science
b. Technological design -Goal is to create a specific outcome, perhaps advance the standard of living in
societies
Experiment Scenario for Test #1 Review
Use the following experiment scenario to answer the following questions:
John, a bright young scientist, wants to study the effects of acid rain on fish, particularly lake
trout. John believes that more acidic water will have a negative effect on the health of the lake trout. He
goes to a nearby lake and collects 50 fish. He makes sure that all of the fish he collects are the same size
and in general good health. He also takes a good bit of the lake water back to the lab with him. He tests
the lake water, and finds that it has a pH of 8.3.
John sets up five 100 gallon fish tanks. He fills all of the tanks with water that he collected from
the lake. He places 10 fish in each tank. John maintains a pH in each of the tanks as follows:
Tank 1 – pH = 9.3
Tank 2 – pH = 8.3
Tank 3 – pH = 7.3
Tank 4 – pH = 6.3
Tank 5 – pH = 5.3
John feeds all of his lake trout the same diet. He also makes sure that the water in every tank
stays at the same temperature and gets the same amount of light exposure. John observes that the fish in
Tanks 1, 4 and 5 all die. The fish in tanks 2 and 3 live. However, the fish in tank 3 are not as healthy as
the fish in tank 2.
1. What is John’s hypothesis? If I increase the acidity of the water in the tanks, then the fish will not
survive.
2. What is the control group in John’s experiment? Tank 2: pH of 8.3, the same as the lake
3. What is/are the experimental group(s) in John’s experiment? All the other tanks
4. Name four controlled variables in John’s experiment.
- tanks of same size
- same diet
- same temp
- same light