Exploring and
Classifying Life
Chapter 1
What is Science?
Section 1
What is Science?
• Science is an organized way of
studying things and finding
answers to questions
• Series of steps to solve problems
 scientific method
• BrainPop
• Safety Rap
M&M Lab
• You will be organizing and
counting M&M candies to find out
which color M&M is the most
plentiful in each bag.
Question
• Which color of M&M is most
plentiful?
Hypothesis
• If I count each color of M&M in a
bag then _________ will be the most
plentiful because ___________
_____________________________________
_______.
Procedure
1. Do NOT eat anything in lab.
2. Open a bag of M&Ms.
3. Count the numbers of each color.
4. Record in chart.
Data
Color
Group 1
Red
Green
Orange
Yellow
Blue
Brown
Average
Number
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Total
• Graph Number of M&M v. Colors
of M&M in a bar graph
• Label the x-axis as Colors of
M&Ms  horizontal axis
• Label the y-axis as Numbers of
M&Ms vertical axis
• Make your graph as large as
possible & colorful
• Glue or staple onto your lab
paper
Conclusion
• What did your hypothesis
say?
• Was your hypothesis
correct? wrong?
• Include your
observations and data
• Give explanations.
• Why would this
information be important
or useful?
Next Step????
• Talk with your lab
partners and come up
with 2 questions
about M&Ms that
could be answered by
doing a lab activity
Vocabulary
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hypothesis  an educated
guess or possible outcome to
a problem
Procedure  set of directions
or steps to follow
Data  Info gathered during
an investigation
Graph  picture of your data
5. Conclusion  An answer
to your question; was
your hypothesis correct?
6. Variable  things that
are changed in an
experiment
7. Control  Things that
are NOT changed in an
experiment
Theory or Law?
• Scientific Law – a RULE that
describes a pattern in nature
– Does not try to explain why
• Scientific Theory - Attempt to
explain a pattern observed
repeatedly in the natural world
– Can Δ w/ new data
Safety
• Follow all safety rules during an
experiment
• Must make an 80% on lab safety
quiz
Section Check
1
Question 1
This diagram shows a way to
use scientific methods to
solve a problem. According
to the diagram, if a
hypothesis is not supported
by data then you should
_______.
Section Check
1
A. change the data so that
they do support the
hypothesis
B. find a different problem to
solve
C. propose a scientific theory
D. revise the hypothesis and
perform new experiments
Section Check
1
Answer
The correct answer is D. Scientific methods are
an organized way to solve a problem in
science. This series of procedures involves
forming a hypothesis that can be tested.
Section Check
1
Question 2
What is the definition of a control in a
scientific experiment?
Answer
A control is the standard to which the
outcome of a test will be compared. Controls
help you determine how to interpret your
data.
Section Check
1
Question 3
A statement about how things work in nature
that seems to be true all the time is a
_______.
A. conclusion
B. hypothesis
C. law
D. variable
Section Check
1
Answer
The correct answer is C. Although laws can be
modified as more information becomes
known, they are less likely to change than
theories.
Living Things
Section 2
What are living things like?
• Any living thing  organism
• All organisms share similar traits
Living
Things
1. Living things are organized
• Cell  smallest unit of an
organism that can carry on all the
functions of life
– Orderly structure
– Contains hereditary material
2. Living things respond
• Stimulus  anything that causes a Δ
• Response  reaction to a stimulus
Homeostasis
Stimulus
Your body
temperature rises
because of exercise
Response
3. Living things use Energy
• All energy ultimately comes from
the Sun
Some organisms eat
plants for energy
Heterotrophs
Some organisms make
their own food from
the Sun’s energy
Autotrophs
4. Living things grow,
develop, and die
• Development  Δ that take place
during the life of an organism
• Lifespan  length of time an
organism is expected to live
5. Living things reproduce
• Must replace individuals that die
List the characteristics of
living things discussed in
this video clip
Star the ones that are
different than what we have
discussed.
What do Living things need?
• Place to live
• Raw materials
– Water
– Oxygen
– Food
• Different requirements for
different organisms
Homework
• Find 2 pictures of living things and 2
pictures of non-living things.
• Either out of a magazine, real photos or
you can even draw them, glue or tape
them into your notebook.
• Under each, list the characteristics the
thing does or does not have that makes
it alive or non-living.
• Bring them to class and be prepared to
share with the class whether they are
living things or non-living things and
why.
Section Check
2
Question 1
What is the smallest unit in a cat that carries
on the functions of life?
Answer
The cell is the smallest unit. All organisms are composed
of cells. Cells take in materials from their surroundings
and use them in complex ways.
Section Check
2
Question 2
Pulling your hand back when you accidentally
touch a hot pan on the stove is an example of
what characteristic of living things?
A. growth and development
B. organization
C. reproduction
D. response to stimuli
Section Check
2
Answer
The correct answer is D. The hot pan is an
example of a stimulus. Living things can
respond to both external and internal stimuli.
Section Check
2
Question 3
Give an example of two raw materials that you
need to survive.
Answer
Some possible answers include: water, food,
and oxygen. Some bacteria and plants can
make food from raw materials in their
surroundings.
Where does life
come from?
Section 3
Two ideas
Spontaneous
generation
Living things
come from
Sources of Life non-living
things
Biogenesis
Living things
come only
from other
living things
Timeline Foldable
• Information on page 20 in
textbook
• Glue last page of foldable into NB
• Francesco Redi
– Decaying meat in
jars & covered
some
– Maggots
appeared only on
uncovered meat
– Conclusion:
maggots hatched
from fly eggs &
not from the meat
1668
• John Needham
– Heated broth in
flasks
– Became cloudy w/
microorganisms
– Conclusion: they
developed
spontaneously
from the broth
– (WRONG!)
1745
• Spallanzani
– Heated broth in
sealed flasks
– Only opened
ones became
cloudy
1768
• Louis Pasteur
– Boiled broth in
open S-necked
flasks
– Only became
cloudy when
tilted & exposed
to dust in the Sneck
– Conclusion: no
such thing as
spontaneous
generation
1859
• Oparin Hypothesis
– Earth’s early atmosphere
contained no oxygen, but did
have ammonia, hydrogen,
methane, & water vapor
– Chemical reactions triggered by
• E from Sun
• Lightning
• Earth’s heat
– New molecules washed into
Earth’s oceans  primordial
soup
1924
• Miller and Urey
– Sent electric
currents
through gasses
– Cooled &
condensed into
liquid that
contained
amino acids
(found in
present-day
cells)
1953
Section Check
3
Question 1
This diagram shows
an experiment Louis
Pasteur conducted
with boiled broth
and S-necked flasks.
Why did microbes
only grow in the
bottom flask?
Section Check
3
Answer
Microbes from the air settled out at the bottom
of the S-neck and only entered the broth when
it was tilted so that the broth touched this
area. This experiment by Pasteur helped
disprove the theory of spontaneous generation.
Section Check
3
Question 2
Which one of the following examples supports
the theory of biogenesis?
A. kittens are produced from cats
B. milk is produced by cows
C. rain is produced by rain clouds
D. stimuli produce responses
Section Check
3
Answer
The correct answer is A. The theory of
biogenesis states that living things come only
from other living things.
Section Check
3
Question 3
What did Alexander Oparin suggest about
Earth’s early atmosphere?
Section Check
3
Answer
He suggested that it contained no oxygen but
was made up of the gases ammonia, hydrogen,
methane, and water vapor. He hypothesized
that these gases could have combined to
produce compounds found in living things.
How are living
things classified?
Section 4
Classification
• Placing similar
things together
into groups
• Aristotle
– Plant or Animal
– Broke these
down into
smaller groups
• Linnaeus
– Classification based on
similar structures
• Modern scientists
– Use similarities in
internal structure as
well
– Chromosome #
– Fossil record
– Very early stages of
development
Six Kingdoms
Scientific Names
• Common names
can be confusing
• Binomial
Nomenclature 
2-word name (1st
– genus, 2nd –
species)
Uses of Scientific Names
1. Avoid mistakes
2. Organisms w/
similar
evolutionary
history are
grouped together
3. Give descriptive
information
4. Info can be
organized easily
& efficiently
Dichotomous Keys
• Detailed list of characteristics
• Includes scientific names
• Series of steps that leads you to
the correct identification
• Alien Identification activity
– Cut out Alien Sheet and glue in NB
– Make a list 1-20
– Use dichotomous key to label aliens
Section Check
4
Question 1
Over 2,000 years ago, Aristotle developed a
system to classify all organisms _______.
A. as either plant or animal.
B. based on fossils.
C. into six different kingdoms.
D. using binomial nomenclature.
Section Check
4
Answer
The correct answer is A. Aristotle broke these
two groups into smaller groups. Two of his
smaller groups of animals would have been
animals with hair and those with no hair.
Section Check
4
Question 2
What word is used to describe the
evolutionary history of an organism?
Answer
The word is phylogeny. Phylogeny explains
how an organism has changed over time and is
the basis for the modern classification of many
organisms.
Section Check
4
Question 3
Acer rubrum is the scientific name for a red
maple tree. This name is an example of
_______.
A. a dichotomous key
B. a hypothesis
C. binomial nomenclature
D. spontaneous generation
Section Check
4
Answer
The correct answer is C. Binomial
nomenclature is the system used by modern
scientists to name organisms. The first part of
the scientific name identifies the genus of the
organism.
Chapter Review
Question 1
Why has the
hypothesis in this
example been used
to propose a
theory?
Chapter Review
Answer
In the example, several different experiments
have all supported the hypothesis. In science,
if the results of experimentation always
support a particular hypothesis, the
hypothesis can then be called a theory. A
theory usually explains many hypotheses.
Chapter Review
Question 2
Which one of the following is an example of
using field work to collect data about where
robins build their nests?
A. doing an internet search on robins
B. finding a book on robins in the library
C. watching robins in a laboratory
D. watching robins in a park
Chapter Review
Answer
The correct answer is D. Fieldwork includes
observations or experiments that are done
outside the laboratory.
Chapter Review
Question 3
Why is reproduction an important characteristic
of living things?
Chapter Review
Answer
Without reproduction, living things could not
replace individuals that die and would soon no
longer exist. Reproduction can take many
different forms, including production of
spores, laying eggs, or giving birth to live
young.
Chapter Review
Question 4
What is the estimated age of Earth?
A. 4600 years old
B. 4.6 million years old
C. 4.6 billion years old
D. 4.6 trillion years old
Chapter Review
Answer
The correct answer is C. Rocks found in
Australia more than 3.5 billion years old are
one piece of data that supports this
estimation.
Chapter Review
Question 5
This is the classification of the bottle-nosed
dolphin. Which one of the following organisms
from the order
Cetacea is most
closely related
to the bottlenosed dolphin?
Chapter Review
A. Bow-head whale from the Family Balaenidea
B. Ganges River dolphin from the Family
Platanistidae
C. Killer whale from
the Family
Delphinidae
D. Right whale from
the Family
Balaenidea
Chapter Review
Answer
The correct answer is C. The bottle-nose
dolphin and the killer whale are more closely
related than the others because they are
classified in the same family of Delphinidae.
Standardized Test Practice
Question 1
Which measurement should be made using the
SI unit of meters instead of the units shown in
the table?
Measurements to make
Volume of water in jar
Height of a bookshelf
Mass of a sofa
Distance to the moon
SI unit to use
milliliters
grams
kilograms
kilometers
Standardized Test Practice
Measurements to make
Volume of water in jar
Height of a bookshelf
Mass of a sofa
Distance to the moon
A. distance to the moon
B. height of a bookshelf
C. mass of a sofa
D. volume of water in a jar
SI unit to use
milliliters
grams
kilograms
kilometers
Standardized Test Practice
Answer
The correct answer is B. Height is a
measurement of length and can be measured
in meters. The SI unit of a gram is a
measurement of mass.
Standardized Test Practice
Question 2
Why might you find these symbols in your text
book?
Standardized Test Practice
A. to alert you to situations that require special
attention
B. to help you study for test on each chapter
C. to show you where to find certain
information in the text
D. to warn you to turn the page quickly
Standardized Test Practice
Answer
The correct answer is A. These are safety
symbols that are used throughout your text.
Standardized Test Practice
Question 3
Like all living things, you require energy to
survive. What is the source of the energy used
by your body?
A. carbon dioxide
B. the Sun
C. food that you eat
D. oxygen
Standardized Test Practice
Answer
The correct answer is C. You get food by
eating plants or other organisms that ate
plants. Plants make their own food through
photosynthesis. Therefore, you use the Sun’s
energy indirectly.
Standardized Test Practice
Question 4
Stanley Miller
and Harold Urey
conducted this
experiment to
find out if gases
in Earth’s early
atmosphere
could have
produced
_______.
Standardized Test Practice
A. bacteria from
viruses
B. chemicals
found in living
things
C. electricity
D. mice from
grain
Standardized Test Practice
Answer
The correct answer is B. They hypothesized
that lightning in Earth’s early atmosphere
could have caused the gases to combine to
produce these chemicals. They passed an
electrical current through those gases to
simulate what might have happened.
Standardized Test Practice
Question 5
Dichotomous keys are arranged in steps with
two _______.
A. descriptive statements at each step
B. kingdoms at each step
C. pictures at each step
D. scientific names at each step
Standardized Test Practice
Answer
The correct answer is A. If you learn how to
use a dichotomous key, you can identify and
name species.