Unit 1 - learning about the different types of living things around

What is Biology? you.

Biology - Interactions of the environment.

o The study of one thing always involves the
study of others with which it interacts.
- Problems and propose solutions
What do biologists study? o Medical treatment and disease prevention.
o Preserve organisms that are in danger of
disappearing.

- Only when something possesses all of the

characteristics of life is it considered living.
o It is then called an organism

- All living things:

Characteristics of living 1. Have an orderly structure
things 2. Produce offspring
3. Grow and develop
4. Adjust to changes in the
environment.

- all living things are organized

- doesn’t matter if an organism is made
up of one cell or a billion, all of its
parts function together in an orderly,
living system.

1. organization

 species

- the study of life - growth

 3. grow and develop
= an increase in the amount of
- Development living material and the formation of
new structures.
= all the changes that take place during the life of
an organism.

4. adjust to environment
- organisms constantly interact with
their environment – which includes the
air, water, weather, temperature –
other organisms in the area, and many
stimulus other factors.

- Anything in an organism’s external or internal

environment that causes the organism to react.
response
- Reaction to a stimulus
homeostasis
- Regulation of an organism’s internal environment to
maintain conditions suitable for its survival
Examples:
o Regulation of body temperature
o Amount of water in cells
2. reproduction - production
of offspring. adaptation
- not needed for
survival of an individual
organism, but it is essential
for the continuation of the
organism’s species.
- a group of
organism
that can
interbreed
and produce Evolution
fertile
offspring.
 - Gradual change in a species through adaptations
 Methods of Biology over time.

-Scientific method

- steps that biologist and other scientists use to gather

information and answer questions
* there are no fixed steps to follow, but scientific
investigations generally involve the same logical
approach to make predictions and form explanations.

Observing
- the first step to scientific discovery is observing
something that no one has noticed before.
o Can be in the form of a question or a problem.

- An explanation for a question or a

Making a hypothesis problem that can be tested.

- Any structure,
behavior, or internal
process that enables
an organism to
respond to the
environmental factors
and lives to produce
offspring.
- are inherited from
previous generations. Performing an experiment
- As the environment
changes, it helps
organisms become
more suited to the new What is a controlled
conditions than others. experiment?
 - Some experiments involve two groups:
1. the control group
-all conditions are kept the same
2. the experimental group
- the test group

- In a controlled experiment only one condition is

changed at a time.
o The condition that is changed is called the
independent variable.
 It is the only variable that affects the
outcome of the experiment.
o The condition that results from the change or
independent variable is called the dependent
variable.
- Method most  Any changes in it depend on changes
commonly used by made to the independent variable.
scientists.
- Is not a random guess.
o Must develop
some idea of
what the answer
to a question
might be
through personal
observations,
extensive Collecting Data
reading, or
previous
investigations

- An experiment is an Drawing conclusions

investigation that tests
a hypothesis by the
process of collecting
information under
controlled conditions.
 - After careful review of the results of the experiment,
the scientist must come to a conclusion:
Reporting Results o Was the hypothesis supported by the data?
o Was it not supported?
o Are more data needed?

Verifying Results - Results and conclusions are reported in scientific

journals so other scientists can examine them.
- Once data is shared other scientists can verify the
results by repeating the procedure.
o If similar results are obtained, then the data is
accepted.
Form a theory
- When a hypothesis is supported by numerous
investigations for a long period of time, it becomes a
theory.
o An explanation of a natural phenomenon that
is supported by a
- Controlled experiments
are often used in the
laboratory setting.
- Not all experiments are
controlled
o Some have no
control group.
o These
investigations
are use in field
work.

- Information obtained
from experiments or
investigations is called
data.
o Can be in
numeral or
verbal form.
  Are known to be true
 Ex. Law of gravity

large body of
scientific
evidence
obtained from
many different
investigations
and
observations.
o Results from a
continual
verification and
refinement of a
hypothesis.
 Scientists
also
recognize
certain
facts of
nature
called
laws or
principles
.