Survey of Life
The Nature of Science and the Scientific
Method
What is the
cartoonist
trying to
communicate?
Science is knowledge gained from
observing with the senses and
experiments .
Topics studied in a scientific way must
have 3 characteristics:
1. Measurable: you can measure it.
2. Observable: you can use your senses to “feel” it.
3. Objective: it is a FACT.
Check the boxes of the topics that are OBJECTIVE.
NOT IN NOTES!
Which items below that can be
studied by Science?
Earthquakes
Viruses
Angels
Cells
Stars
Mind
Reading
Flowers
Beautiful
Music
Delicious
Food
Summary: Decide
whether each question
below can be
answered by science.
What is the most
beautiful type of
Flower?
Are Fish afraid of the
Dark?
How does
temperature affect the
growth of bacteria?
Place a check mark next to the topics
which can be studied scientifically?
What is the most
Are fish afraid of
✖
✖
beautiful type of flower?
✓
Observable?
Measurable?
✖
Objective?
✖
✓ does temp.
How
affect the growth of
bacteria?
✓
✓
✓
Observable?
Measurable?
Objective?
the dark?
Observable?
✖
Measurable?
✖
Objective?
✖
Tools & Precision
 Scientists use the metric system
whenever they measure.
a. Scientists measure length by using a
ruler
Meter (m)
_______.
The unit is the __________.
Volume
a. Scientists measure _________
by
using a graduated cylinder. The unit
Milliliter (mL)
is the __________________.
Tools Continued
c. Scientists measure mass by using a
balance
___________________.
The unit is the
Gram (g)
___________.
Prefixes used with the Metric System.
kilo
a. __________
means 1000 times
b. __________
means 1/1000th
milli
centi
c. __________
means 1/100th
Measurements need to be
PRECISE.
1. Precision:
close the measured values are
a. How ________
each other.
to _______
Smaller units (increments) allow
b. ___________
for more precision.
smallest
c. The tool that measures the __________
amount and with the most
increments .
_____________
How Do Scientists Discover
Truth?
How do scientists study
things scientifically?
Remember: To scientifically study
something, it must be--
Measurable
1.M -- ______________
Observable
2.O -- ______________
Objective
3.O -- ______________
The Scientific Method is
 A systematic approach to problem solving.
There are not a set number of steps. One
possible set of steps is shown below:
1. State theProblem what is the question you will answer?
2. Gather Information what is already known
about the problem?
3. Form a Hypothesis
4. Perform.Experiment
an educated guess based on
what is known.
testing the hypothesis.
The Scientific Method
(Cont’d)
5. Record and Analyze Data
The information that
is gathered
(observations, measurements, times, etc.)
6. Form a Conclusion
A statement based on data from your experiment stating
whether or not your hypothesis was supported
7. Share results and Repeat!
Making Good Hypotheses
testable
•A hypothesis must be _____________.
Experiments
___________ are performed to test
hypothesis.
Therefore it must have the following
characteristics:
• Measurable
• Observable
• Objective
Keywords often associated
with hypotheses
Believe, expect, think, predict
Write a Hypothesis about
different liquids to water
plants.
Ex: If plants are watered with koolaid, then they
will not grow as well as plants with water, because
there is added sugar. .
Is this hypothesis testable?
“Scientists
think that acid rain decreases
the ability of a plant to grow because
plants don’t like acids.” Is this hypothesis
testable?
Conclusions
I. A conclusion is a logical decision based
on _______.
data Data is information or
observations
____________ taken from experiments.
IV. Words that are associated with
conclusions include:
 Conclude
 Decide
 Find Out
 Infer
 Deduce
Look at the example in
your notes…
 What do you think is the cause?
 Is this based on observations or data?
 Is this a valid conclusion?
Why is it important for scientists to be objective when
it comes to examining scientific data?
Scientific Conclusions should be
based on facts not opinions or
beliefs so that the outcomes are
reliable.
Recall the steps of the
scientific method
Problem/question
1. _________________
Gather info
2. _________________
Hypothesize
3. _________________
4. _________________
Experiment
Record/analyze data
5. _________________
6. _________________
Form a conclusion
7. _________________
Share results and repeat
* Stop here for practice *
 Complete the practice scenarios of the scientific
method. Keep these as part of your notes.
Characteristics
of Life
BIO =Life
All Living things share 7 primary
characteristics. In order to be considered
alive, all seven characteristics must be
present.
1. Living Things are made up
of:
Cells
Basic unit of life; collection of living matter
surrounded by a barrier
2. Living things — Reproduce
Producing new organisms similar to parent
3. Living things are based on universal
genetic code carried in a molecule called DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid
4. Living things
grow and ________.
develop
_____
5. Living things obtain and use
energy
materials
__________ and __________
(metabolism).
6. Living things maintain a
stable internal environment
_______
(homeostasis).
Balanced internal conditions (ex: water
content, temperature, pH)
7. As a group living
things
Change over time
______________________
(evolve).
***Circle the items below
that are LIVING:
Tornado
Mushroom
Flower
Fire
Rock
You
Computer
Ant
Volcano
Bacteria
Fish
Car
History of Biological
Classification
 Classification – The Process of
Grouping
______________
organisms based on
Similarities
________________.
Scientists classify
organisms to help them determine
Relationships between organisms.
_____________
Scientists use the same criteria to choose
characteristics to classify organisms as
they use to determine what science can
study: the characteristics must be
Objective
_______________,
Measurable, and
Observable
_____________.
Example:
 If you want to classify members of your biology class
it would NOT be good to group them as “tall” and
“short.” Why not?
 What could you use instead? Under 5’6” an over 5’6”
 ***Circle all of the terms below that would be
appropriate criteria for classification.
 Height in cm
Number of legs
Most beautiful
Classifying
Taxonomy—the science of __________
Naming living things.
and _________
 How are relationships between living things
determined?
 Physical Similarities— external and internal anatomy
 Chemical Similarities— DNA and other molecules
 Behavior— how organisms react to their
environment
How are living things
classified?
 Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), a
Swedish botanist developed a system
__________
called binomial nomenclature. In this
system each species is assigned a two
part scientific name. This system
includes seven levels or taxa.
 Why is it important for scientists to have
a universal naming system?
Since there are many different languages, this provides
a common way for all scientists to discuss organisms.
Also avoids confusion due to slang.
TAXA
Example
Kingdom General/Broad
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Primate
Family
Hominidae
Genus
Homo
Species
Specific/Inclusive sapiens
Scientific Names
 According to Linnaeus’ system, every
scientific name
species has a Latin _______________
composed of the genus and species names.
genus is always
The first letter of the _________
species is
capitalized. The first letter of the ________
lowercase. The entire scientific name is
Underlined
italicized or ___________.
 Species— group of living things that are
capable of producing fertile
offspring
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Human
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primate
Hominidae
Homo
sapiens
Cat
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Felidae
Felis
domesticus
Lion
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Felidae
Panthera
leo
Dog
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis
familiaris
1. Which 2 organisms are the most closely related?
Cat and Lion
2. Which organism is least similar to the others?
Human
3. What is the scientific name for a cat? A dog? A lion?
Felis domesticus Canis familiaris
Panthera leo
The Six Kingdoms of Life
Objective 15
6
 Today organisms are grouped into ____
kingdoms
based on the following characteristics:
 Cell Type
 All living things are made of one or moreCells
______.
Cytoplasm (mostly water)
All cells are made of ___________
and are surrounded by a barrier called a
Cell Membrane
DNA
_________________.
All cells also have _______
ribosomes
which stores genetic information and ____________
which are structures that make proteins
1. Cell Type:
 Prokaryotic—
cells that do not
contain a
Nucleus ;
DNA is found
floating in the
cytoplasm
Draw an arrow to
point to the
DNA.
1. Cell Type cont.
 Eukaryotic—
cells that
contain a
nucleus; the
nucleus is the
control center
of the cell and
contains the
DNA.
 Draw an arrow
to point to the
nucleus.
6 Kingdoms
1. Archaebacteria
or Archaea
2. Eubacteria
3. Protista
4. Fungi
5. Plantae
6. Animalia
Prokaryotic Kingdoms
1. Archaebacteria
2. Eubacteria
Eukaryotic Kingdoms
1. Protista
2. Fungi
3. Plantae
4. Animalia
Discovery Video