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Notes - What Is Science?

Science is knowledge gained from ______with the senses and ______.

Topics studied in a scientific way must have ______characteristics:

1. ______you can measure it

  1. ______you can use your senses to “feel” it
  2. ______it is fact

Put a check in the boxes of topics that are Objective

 Losing weight in a weight loss program

 Deciding the best music for students to study to

 Figuring out which bills to pay

 What time the sun sets during the summer

Based on the 3 characteristics, which topics can be studied scientifically?

 What is the most beautiful type of flower?

Observable?

Measurable?

Objective?

 How does temperature affect the growth of bacteria?

Observable?

Measurable?

Objective?

 Are fish afraid of the dark?

Observable?

Measurable?

Objective?

Notes: Tools & Precision

  1. Scientists use the ______whenever they measure.
  1. Scientists measure ______by using a ______.

The unit is the ______.

  1. Scientists measure ______by using a ______.

The unit is the ______.

  1. Scientists measure ______by using a ______.

The unit is the ______.

  1. Prefixes used withthe ______.
  1. ______means 1000 times.
  2. ______means 1/1000th.
  3. ______means 1/100th.

III.Measurements need to be ______.

  1. Precision:
  2. How ______the measured values are to ______other.

Example: 5.4cm 5.3cm 5.2cm (are close to each other - precise)

5.1cm 5.9cm 5.7cm (are not as precise)

  1. ______units (increments) allow for more precision.

Example: Measuring in mm is more precise than meters.

  1. The tool that measures the ______amount and with the most ______(tick marks on the tool).

Notes: Scientific Method

How do scientists study things scientifically?

Remember: To scientifically study something, it must be:

  1. M______
  2. O______
  3. O______

The Scientific Method: a ______approach to problem solving. There are not a set number of steps. One possible set of steps is shown below:

  1. State the ______-- the question you want answered
  2. Gather ______-- what you already know about the topic
  3. Form a ______-- an educated guess
  4. Perform ______-- Testing the hypothesis
  5. Record and Analyze ______-- information gathered (observations, measurements, times, etc.)
  6. Form a ______-- A statement based off of data from your experiment stating whether or not you hypothesis was supported.
  7. Share Results and Repeat!

Notes: Hypotheses

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Making Good Hypotheses

  • A hypothesis must be ______.
  • ______are performed to test the hypothesis.
  • Therefore, it must have the following characteristics:

Keywords often associated with hypotheses

Practice: Write a hypothesis about using different liquids to “water” plants.

Is your hypothesis testable? Why or why not?

Notes: Conclusions

A conclusion is a logical decision based on ______. Data is information or ______taken from experiments.

Words associated with conclusions:

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  • ______
  • Decide
  • Find out

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Example: You hear a noise coming from the stomach of the person sitting next to you in 4th period.

What would you think is the cause of the noise?

Is this conclusion based on any kind of previous observations or data?

Is this a valid conclusion?

Recall the steps of the scientific method:

1. 5.

2.6.

3.7.

4.

Practice 1:

Objects of the same mass but of different sizes and shapes were dropped from a given height. Their rates of free fall were measured and recorded. Which of the following is most likely the question this experiment was designed to answer?

  1. How does height affect the force of gravity?
  2. How does gravity affect objects of different densities?
  3. How do mass and weight affect falling objects?
  4. How do size and shape affect an object’s rate of free fall?

Practice 2:

A CHS student getting into his car after school notices that his car will not start. The student thinks that it may be the battery since he is prone to forgetting to turn off his lights. When the student looks around he does not see anyone that can jump his car. The student then decides to walk to Wal-Mart to buy a new battery. When the student returns he hooks up the battery and tries to start the car again. The car still does not function properly and the student decides that the battery was not the reason the car would not start.

1. A CHS student getting into his car after school notices that his car will not start.

What part of the scientific method is this sentence representing?

a. The experimentb. The conclusionc. The hypothesisd. The problem

2. The student thinks that it may be the battery since he is prone to forgetting to turn off his lights.

What part of the scientific method is this sentence representing?

a. The experimentb. The conclusionc. The hypothesisd. The problem

3. When the student returns he hooks up the battery and tries to start the car again.

What part of the scientific method is this sentence representing?

a. The experimentb. The conclusion c. The hypothesis d. The problem

4. The car still does not function properly and the student decides that the battery was not the reason the car would not start.

What part of the scientific method is this sentence representing?

a. The experimentb. The conclusion c. The hypothesis d. The problem

****Why do you think the car will not start?

SUMMARY:

What background information did this student already know about cars to help him come up with a hypothesis?

What data did this student collect?

Is something wrong with this student’s conclusion?

Notes – Characteristics of Living Things

Biology is the study of living things(Bio = ______)

All living thing things have 7 characteristics in common:

  1. Living things are made up of ______
  1. Living things______
  1. Living things are based on a universal genetic code called ______
  1. Living things ______and ______. (As individuals, not as a species)
  1. Living things obtain and use ______and ______(Metabolism)
  1. Living things maintain a ______internal environment (Homeostasis) stable = does not change
  1. As a group, living things ______ (Evolve as a species)

Circle the things below that are living.

Tornado / Mushroom / Flower / Fire
Rock / You / Computer / Ant
Volcano / Bacteria / Fish / Car

SUMMARY: Determine if the thing described below is living or nonliving

A scientist studying insects in a forest comes upon a spherical object. She collects it and takes it to her lab. When she looks at it under a microscope, she sees compartments that look like cells. After several days in the container, she sees that there are new cells forming. Which of the 7 characteristics of life is the scientist observing?

What other characteristics will the scientist need to observe to be able to consider the organism as living?

Notes: Classification of Organisms

Classification—the process of ______organisms based on ______. Scientists classify organisms to help them determine ______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 ______, measurable and ______.

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?

***Circle all of the terms below that would be appropriate criteria for classification.

Height in cmNumber of legsMost beautiful

Taxonomy—the science of ______and ______living things.

How are relationships between living things determined?

  1. Physical Similarities—
  2. Chemical Similarities—
  3. Behavior—

How are living things classified?

Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), a ______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?

TAXAExample

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumChordata

ClassMammalia

Order Primate

FamilyHominidae

GenusHomo

Speciessapiens

Scientific Names

According to Linnaeus’ system, every species has a Latin scientific name composed of the genus and species names. The first letter of the ______is always capitalized. The first letter of the ______is lowercase. The entire scientific name is italicized or ______.

Species—

Example:

Human / Cat / Lion / Dog
Kingdom / Animalia / Animalia / Animalia / Animalia
Phylum / Chordata / Chordata / Chordata / Chordata
Class / Mammalia / Mammalia / Mammalia / Mammalia
Order / Primate / Carnivora / Carnivora / Carnivora
Family / Hominidae / Felidae / Felidae / Canidae
Genus / Homo / Felis / Panthera / Canis
Species / sapiens / domesticus / leo / familiaris
  1. Which 2 organisms are the most closely related?
  2. Which organism is least similar to the others?
  3. What is the scientific name for a cat? A dog? A lion?

Notes—Prokaryote vs. Eukaryote and Kingdoms

Objectives 15-17

Today organisms are grouped into ____ kingdoms based on the following characteristics:

  1. Cell Type

All living things are made of one or more ______

All cells are made of ______(mostly water)

All cells are surrounded by a barrier called a ______

All cells have ______, which stores genetic information.

All cells have ______, which make proteins.

There are 2 main types of cells:

  • Prokaryotic—cells that do not contain a ______; ______is found floating in the cytoplasm
  • Eukaryotic—cells that contain a ______; the nucleus is the control center of the cell and contains the ______.

There are ____ kingdoms of life.

1. ______4. ______

2. ______5. ______

3. ______6. ______

Prokaryotic kingdoms – kingdoms that DO NOT have a nucleus containing their DNA include the following 2 kingdoms:

1.______2. ______

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Eukaryotic Kingdoms – kingdoms that DO HAVE a nucleus containing their DNA include the following 4 kingdoms

1. ______2. ______3. ______4. ______