 Bio= Life
 ology= study of
• Biology is the study of living things.
•Chemistry focuses on the chemicals that comprise matter.
•Physics focuses on the laws that mother nature set for all matter: living and nonliving.
• All three major branches of science can decipher and explain the mysteries of
life.
*So yes, in biology we learn a little about other sciences since both chemistry and
physics help explain the “living” organisms.
• Prefixes and suffixes can help you figure out many biology terms such as….
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
• By “dissecting” these words, you will be able to understand many biology words that seem
complicated.
• Prefixes- before (pre)
• Suffixes- after
(pneu-), or (pneumo-) which means lung.
ultra, meaning extreme,
microscopic, meaning small.
(silico-), which refers to silicon
(volcano-) which refers to the mineral particles that make up a volcano.
(coni-), a derivative of the Greek word konis meaning dust.
(-osis) which means affected with.
Considering the prefix (pneumo-) and the suffix (-osis), we can determine that the lungs are affected with
something. But what? Breaking down the rest of the terms we get extremely small
(ultramicroscopic) silicon (silico-) and volcanic (volcano-) dust (coni-) particles.
Thus, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a disease of the lungs resulting from the
inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust.
Prefixes
Bacteri- bacteria
Bio- life
Cardio- heart
Chem- chemicals
Embry- egg
Entom- insects
Hemato- blood
Hydro-water
Immuno- immune system
Macro-large
Micro- small
Neur- brain, nerves
Path- disease
Pulm- lung
Sucr- sugar
Suffixes
- ase
(enzyme)
-itis
(inflammation)
-lysis
(break apart)
- ology (study of)
- ologist (studies)
- ose
(sugar)
- oxide (containing oxygen)
 The Scientific method is used to help scientists gather scientific information.
 Science is an organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the natural world.
 Science is a process in order to observe, think, and know about the natural world.
1. Science never deals with any supernatural phenomena of any kind, it only concerns
itself with natural world.
2. Scientists collect and organize information in an orderly way, looking for patterns and
connections among events.
3. Scientists propose explanations that are based on evidence, not belief.
 Why is science still such a mystery?
Science never stands still, almost every major scientific discovery
raises more questions than answers.
1. Observing and asking questions:
a) Observation- act of noticing and describing events or processes in a careful,
orderly way.
• “think something that nobody has thought yet, while looking at something
that everybody sees” –Arthur Schopenhauer
• That leads to questions people have never asked
2. Inferring and Forming a hypothesis:
a) Inference- logical interpretation based on what scientists already know
b) hypothesis- scientific explanation for a set of observations that can be tested
in ways that support or reject it.
We observe a species of cactus in the desert and make an
inference (cactus must store water for longer periods in order
to survive) because we know that plants need water. We
would then provide a hypothesis of how this is possible.
What do you think?
3. Designing Controlled Experiments:
a) Testing a scientific experiments that keeps track of changing factors, or variables.
a) Examples of variables: equipment used, types of materials, amount of material,
temperature, light, time.
b) Independent Variable (manipulated variable)- deliberately changed
c) Dependent Variable (responding variable)- is observed and that changes in
response to the independent variable.
b) Whenever possible, an experiment should be made where only one variable changes=
Controlled experiment.
c) In any experiment you need a control group and experimental group
Control group is different than Controlled experiment, how?
A control group is exposed to the same conditions as the experimental group
except for one independent variable.
A controlled experiment just explain that an experiment should usually have
only one independent variable.
Which plot of land will grow taller plants?
 What is the independent variable?
 What is the dependent variable?
IV: Fertilizer
DV: growth of plants
4. Data- The information collected through observations and experiments.
- Very detailed
- Quantitative data- are numbers obtained by counting or measuring.
-Qualitative date- are descriptive and involve descriptions that can’t be
counted.
Sources of error should always be stated in experiments because the most
important thing about experiments is you must be able to replicate the results for
it to be accurate.
• large sample sizes help with errors
5. Drawing Conclusions:
• The experimental data is used as evidence to support, refute, or revise the hypothesis
being tested, and then to draw a valid conclusion.
Some experiments are not possible:
1. Not always possible to test a hypothesis, such as animal behaviorist.
2. Ethics
1. If a scientists wanted to test people that have been exposed to a certain deadly
chemical they wouldn’t intentionally expose them but instead ask for volunteers who
already have been exposed to that chemical.
6. Communicating Results:
• Other scientist should be able to take your
finding and replicate them.
• Peer review- where your findings get reviewed by
experts and then published in scientific journals to
share their ideas and test and evaluate each other’s
work.
• http://www.sciencemag.org/journals
 Remember, Scientist must publish their research (with flaws and all).
• Journals are considered the primary source of scientific information.
• They contain the original research papers
• papers are written following scientific style of abstract (summary) of the research,
statement of the hypothesis, description of materials used, how the experiment was
designed and performed, results of the experiment (including raw data, graphs, tables,
conclusions and errors).
• Textbooks are considered secondary sources of information.
• they do not contain research papers, but they’re usually written by experts in the field.
• Good to turn to for history of a topic, basic facts about a subject, and summaries of
certain research.
• Popular press are considered tertiary (3rd level) sources of information.
• these include newsstand magazine, newspaper, television, or radio programs.
• scientists hate being misquoted and misunderstood
• Tertiary sources should not be used as an only resource, because it can be incorrect.
Redi’s Experiment on Spontaneous Generation
Observations: Flies land on meat that is left uncovered. Later, maggots appear on the meat.
Hypothesis: Flies produce maggots.
Procedure
Controlled Variables:
Jars, type of meat, location,
temperature, time
Independent (manipulated)
variables:
Gauze covering that keeps
flies away from meat
Dependent (responding)
variables:
Whether maggots appear
Control
Group
Conclusion: Maggots form only when flies come in contact with meat. Spontaneous generation
of maggots did not occur. When the jar is sealed completely, the maggots don’t form because
they come from the flies.
Theory- well tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations and hypotheses
and that enables scientists to make accurate predictions about new situations.
• No theory is considered absolute truth, can be considered dominant view of the majority
of scientists.
• Remember, science is always changing as new evidence is uncovered, a theory may be
revised or replaced by a more useful explanation.
Theory of Plate Tectonics and Evolution help explain why marsupials such as
koalas and kangaroos can be found only in Australia and some nearby islands.
What distinguishes living with nonliving matter?
So what are the characteristics of
life?
Living things are:
1
• All organisms store the
information needed to
live, grow, and
reproduce in genetic
code written in a
molecule called DNA.
• Copied and passed from
parent to offspring
• Life’s genetic code is
almost identical in every
organism on earth.
Living things:
2
• Every organism has a
particular pattern of
growth and
development.
• During development, a
single fertilized egg
divides again and again.
• As the cell divides, they
differentiate, or begin to
look different from one
another and perform
different functions.
Living things:
• Organisms detect and
respond to stimuli from
their environment.
• Stimulus- is a signal to
which an organism
responds.
3
Living things:
• Organisms are composed of one
or more cells—the smallest
units considered FULLY ALIVE.
• Cells can grow, respond to their
surroundings, and reproduce.
• Despite their small size, cells are
complex and highly organized.
4
Living things:
• All organisms reproduce, meaning
they produce new similar
organisms.
• Most plants and animals engage in
sexual reproduction.
• Sexual Reproduction: Cells from
two parents unite to form the first
cell of a new organism
• Asexual Reproduction: Single
organism produces offspring
identical to itself.
5
Living things:
• All organisms need to
keep their internal
environment relatively
STABLE, even when
external conditions
change dramatically.
• HOMEOSTASIS
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Living things:
• All organisms must take in
materials and energy to
grow, develop, and
reproduce.
• The combination of chemical
reactions through which an
organism builds up or breaks
down materials is called
METABOLISM
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• Over generations, groups of
organisms evolve, or change
over time.
• Evolutionary change links all
forms of life to a common
origin more than 3.5 billion
years ago.
• Evidence of this shared history
is shown from physical
features to structures of
proteins to sequences of
information in DNA.
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