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Bio Chapter 1 Study Guide
In addition to this study guide, you should also study the guided notes you took in class, the vocabulary for
the chapter as well as any worksheets we did in class or for homework. If you have any questions, you
should email me! 
1. Biology is the study of _____________ things or the study of things that were once ______________.
2. Which topic would a biologist NOT study?
a. Why the Texas horned lizard squirts blood out of its eyes
b. The chemical composition of fuel
3. What characteristics do all living things display?
4. What is the difference between qualitative data and quantitative data?
5. What is science?
6. Why is it important for you to learn about science?
7. What is peer review?
8. What is an inference?
9. You observe your cat has gotten fat. What inferences might you make?
10. A good experiment must always include two groups. A ________________ group and an
________________________ group, and a scientist should only test ________________ variable at a time.
11. Where does the independent variable go on a graph?
12. Where does the dependent variable go on a graph?
13. The building blocks of life, or the smallest units of life, are called ___________
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14. When doing an experiment, what you measure is called the _____________________ variable. What you, as the
scientist, control is the __________________________ variable.
15. An entomologist (bug scientist) wants to determine whether temperature affects the number times a cricket chirps.
What is the dependent variable?
16. You want to test a new drug that supposedly prevents sneezing in people allergic to grass. What is the independent
variable?
17. You want to measure the effect of different amounts of oxygen on the rate of yeast growth. What is the
independent variable?
18. You think that a certain part of your brain is important in memory. To test this, you will remove this part of the brain
from rats and see if they remember how to get through the maze. What is the independent variable in this
experiment?
19. An entomologist (bug scientist) wants to determine if temperature affects the number of times a cricket chirps.
What is the independent variable?
20. A florist wants to see if Product X will extend the life of cut flowers so that they last longer. What is the dependent
variable?
21. You think that a certain part of your brain is important in memory. To test this, you will remove this part of the brain
from rats and see if they remember how to get through the maze. What is the dependent variable in this
experiment?
22. You want to see if playing music makes plants grow taller. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
23. Orchids were studied to determine if humidity affects the flowering of these plants. Which of these was the
independent variable in this study?
24. A soap manufacturer wants to prove that their detergent works better to remove tough stains. What is the
dependent variable?
25. You want to test a new drug that supposedly prevents sneezing in people allergic to grass. What is the dependent
variable?
26. A florist wants to see if Product X will extend the life of cut flowers so that they last longer. What is the independent
variable?
27. You want to see if playing music makes plants grow taller. What is the independent variable in this experiment?
28. A soap manufacturer wants to prove that their detergent works better to remove tough stains. What is the
independent variable?
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In your textbook, read about the characteristics of life in Chapter 1 (pgs. 4-21).
Refer to the diagrams. Respond to each statement.
A. Flame
B. Euglena
C. Fish
29. List any image that depicts a living thing.
30. Explain why any image you did not list does not depict a living thing.
Read each of the following items. If it describes a living thing, write yes. If not, write no.
31. is made of one or more cells…____________________
32. cannot respond to its environment…________________
33. requires energy to function…____________________
Number the levels of the organization of living things from 1 through 6. Put them in order from simplest to
most complex.
___34. organs
___36. organism
___38. organ system
___
___37. tissues
___39. biosphere
35. cell
For each statement, circle the stimulus and underline the response.
40. Your mouth waters at the sight of food on a plate.
41. There is a sudden drop in air temperature, which gives you goose bumps.
42. You get a fever after a virus enters your body.
43. You get "butterflies" in your stomach before giving a speech.
Refer to the graph. Respond to the following statement.
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44. Name the process that the graph represents. Describe this process.
Read the following scenarios. For each, indicate the independent variable, dependent variable, experimental
group, and control group:
45. A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary
incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of the course. Half the students were offered $5
for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test, the other half were not offered money.
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Experimental group:
Control group:
46. A social psychologist thinks that people are more likely to conform to a large crowd than to a single person. To test
this hypothesis, the social psychologist had either one person or five persons stand on a busy walking path on campus and
look up. The psychologist stood nearby and counted the number of people passing by who also looked up.
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Experimental group:
Control group:
47. To test a new voice feature in a cockpit design a flight simulator was used. The simulator was programmed to give
visual readings of flight information, or to give visual and auditory (voice) readings of flight information. All test pilots
were put through a simulated emergency landing procedure, but were randomly assigned to the visual, or visual and
auditory conditions. Flight experts rated each pilot’s performance in the simulator on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 10
(excellent).
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Experimental group:
Control group:
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