1. Chapter
1
The Science of Biology

2. 1.1What is Science?
Objectives
• What are the goals of science?
• What procedures are at the core of scientific methodology?
The Science of Biology
• People have always been curious about living things
• The concepts, principles, and theories that allow people to understand the natural
environment form the core of Biology
Biology - _______________________________________________________________
What Science Is and Is Not
• In this course you will learn a lot of facts and ideas about living things
• But don’t think that biology or any science is just a collection of never changing facts
• Scientific ideas are open to testing, discussion, and revision.
• This means ___________________________________________________________
Science as a Way of Knowing
Science - ________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
• In other words science is a _________________________________ not a thing.
• The word science also refers to the body of knowledge that scientific studies have
gathered over the years
Q: How is science different from other human endeavors?
1.) _____________________________________________________________________
2.) _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
3.) _____________________________________________________________________
The Goals of Science
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3. • The scientific way of knowing includes the view that the physical universe is a
system composed of ____________________________________________________
• From a scientific perspective, all objects and interactions in the universe are governed
by __________________________________________________
The Goals of Science are…
1.
______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
2.
______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
Science, Change, and Uncertainty
• Over centuries, scientists have gathered an enormous amount of information about the
natural world
Ex.)
• Yet, despite all we know, much of nature remains a mystery
• Scientific discoveries often raise more questions than they answer
• The constant change in science doesn’t mean that science has failed, it means that
science continues to advance
• Learning about science means more than just understanding what we know. It means
understanding what we don’t know
Scientific Methodology: The Heart of Science
• Curiosity is often what motivates scientists to try to answer simple questions about
everyday observations
• The knowledge obtained when scientists answer questions provides better
understanding of general principles or may lead to practical applications or even to
new questions
• Scientists approach to research is not much different to the way you usually solve
problems. Everyone goes about it a little differently, but there is a general style of
investigation called scientific methodology
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4. Q: What are the steps of scientific methodology?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Observing and Asking Questions
• Scientific investigations begin with observation
Observation - ____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
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5. Inferring and Forming a Hypothesis
• After posing questions, scientists use further observations to make inferences
Inference - ______________________________________________________________
• Inference, combined with a creative imagination, can lead to a hypothesis
Hypothesis - _____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
Designing Controlled Experiments
• Testing a scientific hypothesis often involves designing an experiment that keeps
track of various factors that can change
• These factors are called ______________________________
• Whenever possible, a hypothesis should be tested by an experiment in which only one
variable is changed. All other variables should be kept unchanged, or
________________________
• This type of experiment is called a ________________________________________
Q: Why is it important to control variables?
A:
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6. Independent variable - _____________________________________________________
Dependent variable - ______________________________________________________
Example graphing independent and dependent variables
Control and Experimental Groups
• Typically, an experiment is divided into control and experimental groups
Control group - ___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
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7. Collecting and Analyzing Data
Data - __________________________________________________________________
• There are two main types of data
1.
2.
Research Tools
• Scientists choose appropriate tools for collecting an analyzing data
Ex.)
Sources of Error
• No experiment is without some error
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8. • Researchers must be careful to avoid errors in data collection and analysis
Q: What is the most common way to reduce error and validate results in experiments?
A:
Drawing Conclusions
• Scientists use experimental data as evidence to support, refute, or revise the
hypothesis being tested, and to draw a valid conclusion.
Q: What would be a valid conclusion based on this experimental data?
A:
Revising hypotheses
• During the course of an investigation,
hypotheses may need to be revised
and experiments redone several times
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9. When Experiments Are Not Possible
• It is not always possible to test a hypothesis with an experiment
Ex.)
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10. Name _________________________________ Date ____________________ Per _____
1.1Section Review
1. What is science?
2. What are the goals of science?
3. What kinds of understandings does science contribute to the natural world?
4. Draw a flow chart for scientific methodology
5. Why is a hypothesis important to controlled experiments?
6. Regents Question:
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11. 1.2Science in Context
Objectives:
• What scientific attitudes help generate new ideas
• Why is peer review important?
• What is a scientific theory?
• What is the relationship between science and society?
Exploration and Discovery: Where Ideas Come From
• The observations and questions that always begin the scientific methodology are
often inspired by scientific attitudes, practical problems, and new technology
Scientific Attitudes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Practical Problems
• Sometimes, ideas for scientific investigations arise from practical problems
Ex.)
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12. The Role of Technology
• Technology, science and society are closely linked
• Discoveries in science can lead to new technologies and vice versa
Communicating Results: Reviewing and Sharing Ideas
• Communication and sharing of ideas are vital to modern science
Peer Review
• Scientists share their findings with the scientific community by publishing articles
that have undergone peer review
• In peer review, scientific papers are reviewed by anonymous, independent experts
Q: Why is peer review important?
A:
Sharing Knowledge and New Ideas
• Once research has been published, it enters the dynamic marketplace of scientific
ideas where often the result is more questions that can be investigated
Scientific Theories
• Evidence from many scientific studies may support several related hypotheses in a
way that inspires researchers to propose a scientific ______________________ that
ties those hypothesis together
• A theory in everyday language is much different than a theory in science
Theory - ________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
__
Science and Society
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13. • Many of the questions that involve science cannot be answered by science alone
• Using science involves understanding its context in society and its limitations
• Science can sometimes explain why or how something happens but it does not and
should not include ethical or moral viewpoints
Avoiding Bias
• The way that science is applied can be affected by bias
Bias - __________________________________________________________________
• Science aims to be objective, but scientists are human, too
• They have likes, dislikes, and occasional biases
• It shouldn’t surprise you that scientific data can be misinterpreted or misapplied by
scientists who want to prove a particular point
• But if enough of us understand science, we can help make certain that science is
applied in ways that benefit humanity
Understanding and Using Science
• Science will keep changing as long as humans keep wondering about nature
• Don’t just try to memorize the scientific facts and ideas you learn in class
o Try to understand how scientists developed those ideas
o Try to see the thinking behind the experiments we describe
o Try to pose the types of questions scientists ask
• Understanding science will help you make complex decisions
• Furthermore, understanding biology will help you realize that we humans can predict
the consequences of our actions and take an active role in directing our future and that
of our planet
• In our society, scientists make recommendations about big policy decisions but they
don’t make the decisions
•
Q: Who does make the decisions?
A:
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14. Name ________________________________ Date _________________ Per _______
1-2 Section Review
1. List the attitudes that lead scientists to explore and discover.
2. Which of your answers to question 1 do you think would lead you to explore and
discover if you were a scientist?
3. What does it mean to describe a scientist as skeptical? Why is skepticism an
important quality in a scientist?
4. What is peer review? Why is it important?
5. How does the use of the word theory differ in science and in daily life?
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15. 6. How is science influenced by society and how does society influence science?
7. What are some of the limitations of science?
8. A study shows that a new pesticide is safe for use on crops. The researcher who
conducted the study works for the pesticide company. What potential biases may
have affected the study?
9. Explain in your own words why science is considered a “way of knowing”
1.3Studying Life
Objectives:
• What characteristics do all living things share?
• What are the central themes of biology?
• How do different fields of biology differ in their approach to studying life?
• How is the metric system important to science?
Think about it…
• Of all the important and exciting news stories that you hear everyday, many of these
involve biology
Biology
Biology - ______________________________________________________
Q: What is life?
A:
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16. The Characteristics of Living Things
1. Living things __________________________________________________________
2. Living things __________________________________________________________
3. Living things __________________________________________________________
Metabolism - ____________________________________________________________
4. Living things __________________________________________________________
5. Living things _________________________________
Asexual reproduction - _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
Sexual reproduction - ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
6. Living things __________________________________________________________
Stimulus - _______________________________________________________________
Ex.)
7. Living things __________________________________________________________
Homeostasis - ____________________________________________________________
Ex.)
8. Living things - _________________________________________________________
Big Ideas in Biology
• The study of biology revolves around several interlocking big ideas or central themes:
1. Cellular Basis of Life
2. Information and Heredity
3. Matter and Energy
4. Growth, Development and Reproduction
5. Homeostasis
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17. 6. Evolution
7. Structure and Function
8. Unity and Diversity of Life
9. Interdependence in Nature
10. Science as a Way of Knowing
Fields of Biology
• Biology includes many overlapping fields that use different tools to study life from
the level of molecules to the entire planet
Q: What are some fields of biology and what do they study?
A:
Performing Biological Investigations
• Because researchers need to replicate one another’s experiments, and because many
experiments involve quantitative data, scientists need a common system of
measurement
• Most scientists use the ___________________________________ when collecting
data and performing experiments
• This system is based on multiples of 10 so its easier to use than other measurement
systems
Q: Why is it important that all scientific measurements be done in the same way?
A:
• In biology, the metric units you will encounter most often are
• ________________________ (length)
• ________________________ (mass)
• ________________________ (volume)
17

18. • ________________________ (time)
• ________________________ (temperature)
Safety
• Scientific investigations can sometimes be dangerous, therefore safety is always an
important factor to consider in our experiments
• Always follow safe practices in the lab and understand any safety precautions that
you should be taking
• The most important safety rule is __________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_
Name __________________________________ Date ___________________ Per _____
1-3 Section Review
1. List the characteristics that define life.
2. Suppose you feel hungry, so you reach for a plum you see in a fruit bowl. Explain
how both external and internal stimuli are involved in your action.
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19. 3. Which central theme of biology do you think interests you the most? Why?
4. Suppose you discover a new organism. What would you expect to see if you
studied it under the microscope?
5. What is the difference between a cellular biologist and an ecologist? What is
similar about those two professions?
6. Suppose two scientists are trying to perform an experiment that involves
dangerous chemicals. How might their safety be affected by not using a common
system of measurement.
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