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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is science? |
not simply a body of knowledge or a list of facts to be remembered but rather an intellectual activity encompassing observation, descriptions, experimentation, and explanation of natural phenomena |
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What is biology? |
the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behavior, origin, and distribution |
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What is biological literacy? |
the ability to: use the process of scientific inquiry to think creatively about real-world issues, communicate those thought to others, and integrate those thoughts into your decision-making |
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What is the scientific theory? |
a powerful approach to understanding the world |
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List the basic steps in the scientific method? |
make observations, formulate a hypothesis, devise a testable prediction, conduct a critical experiment, draw conclusions and make revisions |
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What is the first step of the scientific method? |
make observations; look for interesting patterns cause-and-effect relationships
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What is a hypothesis? |
a proposed explanation for observed phenomena |
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What must a hypothesis accomplish? |
it must clearly establish mutually alternative explanations for a phenomenon; it must generate testable predictions |
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What is the third step of the scientific method? |
devise a testable prediction; suggest that under certain conditions we will make certain observations, keep in mind that any one of several possible explanations could be true |
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What is a critical experiment? |
an experiment that makes it possible to decisively determine wether a particular hypothesis is correct |
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What is the last step of the scientific method? |
draw conclusions, make revisions; trial and error |
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What is a theory? |
theory is a hypothesis for natural phenomena that is exceptionally well-supported by the data |
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What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory? |
theories are hypotheses that have been so strongly supported by empirical observation that the scientific community view them as very unlikely to be altered by new evidence |
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What is a control group? |
a group of individuals who are treated identically to the experimental group with the one expectation: they are not exposed to the treatment |
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What is an experimental group? |
a group of individuals who are exposed to a particular treatment |
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What is a variable? |
characteristics of your experimental system that are subject to change |
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What is a blind experimental design? |
the experimental subjects do not know which treatment (if any) they are receiving |
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What is a double-blind experimental design? |
neither the experimental subject nor the experimenter know which treatment the subject is receiving |
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What is a pseudoscience? |
individuals make scientific-sounding claims that are not supported by trustworthy, methodical scientific studies |
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What are anecdotal observations? |
based on only one or a few observations, people conclude that there is or is not a link between two things |
