Biology Summer Packet

The main reason students find it difficult to understand science is because of all the hard to write, spell and read words. Actually, scientific vocabulary is a hodge podge of little words that are linked together to have different meanings. If you learn the meanings of the little words, you'll find scientific vocabulary much easier to understand.

Each week in biology you will have a root word quiz over 20 words from a list that you will get at the start of the year. Over the summer, to get into the habit of practicing with root words, here is a list of twenty words to practice with. To help memorize these, I am asking that you make flashcards following the model below. The first week of school we will have a quiz over the following prefixes and suffixes and their meanings:

Word / Meaning
a or an / not or non
aero / needing oxygen or air
anti / against
auto / self
bi / two, twice, double
bio / life, living
cephal / head
chloro / green
chromo / color
cide / killer, kill, killing
co- / with, together
cyto / cell
derm / skin
di / two, double
ecto (exo) / outer, external
endo / inner, inside
epi / above
eu- / True, normal
gastro / stomach
genesis / origin, beginning
herba / plants
hetero / different
homo / alike, similar
hydro / water
hyper / above
hypo / below
itis / disease, inflammation
iso- / equal, same
-kary- / cell nucleus
lateral / Side
logy / study of
lys, lysis / break down
macro / large
meter / measurement
micro / small
mono / one, single
morph / form
multi / many
philia / like
pro- / before, first
photo / light
poly / many
synthesis / to make
troph / eat, consume
therm / heat
tri / three
zoo, zoa / animal

What the word means:
Draw a picture of the word: / Write words that uses the root:
Draw a picture of the word: / Write words that uses the root:

Use the list above to guess the meaning of each of the following terms

1. Hydrology

2. Cytology

3. Protozoa

4. Epidermis

5. Spermatogenesis

6. Cytoskeleton

7. Abiotic

8. Dermatitis

9. Hypodermic

10. Hydrophilic

11. Endocytosis

12. Insecticide

13. Anaerobic

14. Bilateral

15. Endotherm

18. Micrometer

19. Hypothermia

20. Bilateral

Lab Safety

View the picture and answer the questions.

Questions:

1. List 3 unsafe activities shown in the illustration and explain why each is unsafe.
2. List 3 correct lab procedures depicted in the illustration.
3. What should Bob do after the accident?
4. What should Sue have done to avoid an accident?
5. Compare Luke and Duke's lab techniques. Who is following the rules?
6. What are three things shown in the lab that should not be there?
7. Compare Joe and Carl's lab techniques. Who is doing it the correct way?
8. What will happen to Ray and Tim when the teacher catches them?
9. List three items in the illustration that are there for the safety of the students in the lab.
10. What is Betty doing wrong?

The Scientific Method Name ______

What is science? Chances are you have been studying science for a few years now. But science is more than just a few chapters in a textbook. Science is a process. It is a constant search for information about our universe. The word science comes from the Latin word, "scire," meaning "to know." Scientists are like crime scene investigators. They use a process to solve a mystery. The process they use is called the scientific method.
Scientists begin this method by stating a problem. This is a question he or she wants answered. Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? Or how your skin heals when you cut it? If so, you have taken the first step of the scientific method. Before they study it, scientists have to clearly define the problem. Usually they pose a question. For example, they might say, "Which warms faster, water or land?"

Every good experiment has at least one variable. A variable is the factor that is being tested. Experiments should also have a control. In a control experiment, everything is set up the same, but the variable is missing. After all the information is gathered, the scientist gives a possible solution to the problem. This is called a hypothesis. For example, she might say, "Water warms faster than land."
Next, the scientist will test the hypothesis by doing an experiment or writing a procedure. An experiment has to be set up carefully. First, she would pour a measured amount of water into a container. Then she would put the same amount of soil into another container. She would put the containers under a heat source such as a light. She would put a thermometer in each container. At certain intervals, the scientist would read each thermometer.
The next step in the scientific method is to record and analyze data. Data includes any measurements taken. It also includes observations made during the experiment. In the soil and water experiment, data would include the temperatures of each container and the times that they were taken. Usually the data is recorded in a table. Then it might be graphed. This helps the scientist to compare the measurements.
This experiment would be run many times before the scientist could come to a conclusion. If the water heats up faster during each experiment, the scientist could conclude that water heats faster than land.
After a conclusion is formed, a theory may be developed. A theory is a logical explanation for events in nature. After the theory is tested many times, it could become a law. A law is a theory that has been accepted as true. However, even laws can be changed if different findings are obtained by other experiments. This is the spirit of science: questions can always be asked. New explanations can always be considered in any event.

1) What is science?

2) What is a variable?

3) What is a control?

4) What is a hypothesis?

5) What is the experiment or procedure?

6) What is data?

7) What is the point of graphing data?

8) What is a conclusion?

9) What is a theory?

10) What is a law?

Variables and Controls:

Variable- part of the experiment that is changed

Independent variable- part of the experiment that YOU change

Dependent variable- part of the experiment that you MEASURE or collect data on

Control- group that is not tested, used to compare results

Constants- parts of the experiment that you keep the same for every trial

Ex: You want to see if using fertilizer will make your grass grow better.

Independent variable- amount of fertilizer (this is what you change in the experiment)

Dependent variable- grass growth (this is what you measure, how much your grass grows)

Control group- grass that doesn’t get any fertilizer (only water)

Constants- same type of fertilizer, grass area, amount of water, amount of sunlight

1) What variables can affect the taste of pizza?

2) What variables can affect the number of fish in a lake?

3) What variables can affect the speed of a runner in a 100-yard dash race?

4) What variables can affect the taste of a soft drink?

5) You test out different soda types to see if they give you more energy.