BackBIO101: Core Concepts and Scientific Method Study Guide
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Q1. List the seven properties of life.
Background
Topic: Properties of Life
This question tests your understanding of the fundamental characteristics that define living organisms in biology.
Key Terms:
Order
Regulation
Growth and Development
Energy Processing
Response to Environment
Reproduction
Evolutionary Adaptation
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the main features that all living things share. Think about what distinguishes living organisms from non-living things.
List each property, considering examples for each (e.g., how do living things regulate their internal environment?).
Check your list against your textbook or lecture notes to ensure you have all seven properties.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q2. Streptococcus bacteria belong to which domain?
Background
Topic: Domains of Life
This question tests your knowledge of the three-domain system used to classify all life forms.
Key Terms:
Domain: The highest taxonomic rank in the classification of organisms.
Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya: The three domains of life.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the characteristics of Streptococcus bacteria (e.g., prokaryotic, cell wall composition).
Match these characteristics to the correct domain (Bacteria, Archaea, or Eukarya).
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q3. Both single-celled amoeba and humans belong to which domain, and why?
Background
Topic: Domains of Life & Cell Structure
This question tests your understanding of the classification of organisms based on cell structure, specifically the location of genetic material.
Key Terms:
Eukaryote: Organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within membranes.
Prokaryote: Organisms whose cells lack a nucleus.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Identify the cell type of both amoeba and humans (single-celled vs. multicellular, presence of nucleus).
Recall which domain includes organisms with their genetic material inside a nucleus.
Fill in the blanks with the correct domain and cell structure term.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q4. What is the lowest level of biological organization?
Background
Topic: Levels of Biological Organization
This question tests your understanding of the hierarchy of biological organization, from smallest to largest.
Key Terms:
Atom, Molecule, Organelle, Cell, Tissue, Organ, Organ System, Organism, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biosphere
Step-by-Step Guidance
List the levels of organization from smallest to largest.
Identify which level is considered the basic unit of life.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q5. What is the highest level of biological organization?
Background
Topic: Levels of Biological Organization
This question tests your understanding of the broadest level in the hierarchy of life.
Key Terms:
Biosphere: All life on Earth and all the places where life exists.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the sequence of biological organization from smallest to largest.
Identify the level that encompasses all ecosystems on Earth.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q6. At which level did life first emerge?
Background
Topic: Origin of Life & Biological Organization
This question tests your understanding of the level at which life is first considered to exist.
Key Terms:
Cell: The smallest unit of life that can carry out all life processes.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Think about which level in the hierarchy is capable of independent life.
Recall the definition of a cell and its role in the emergence of life.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q7. What is the goal of science?
Background
Topic: Nature of Science
This question tests your understanding of the purpose and aims of scientific inquiry.
Key Terms:
Natural phenomena: Events or processes that can be observed in the natural world.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Consider what scientists try to achieve when studying the natural world.
Think about the difference between explaining and describing phenomena.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q8. What is a proposed explanation for an observation called?
Background
Topic: Scientific Method
This question tests your understanding of the steps in the scientific method, specifically the terminology used for explanations.
Key Terms:
Hypothesis: A tentative explanation for an observation or phenomenon.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the steps of the scientific method and the term used for a testable explanation.
Think about what comes after making an observation in science.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q9. What makes a good hypothesis?
Background
Topic: Scientific Method
This question tests your understanding of the qualities of a scientifically useful hypothesis.
Key Terms:
Testable: Can be supported or refuted by experimentation or observation.
Falsifiable: Can be proven false by evidence.
Step-by-Step Guidance
List the characteristics that make a hypothesis scientifically valid.
Consider why these characteristics are important for scientific progress.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q10. When a hypothesis is supported by a large body of evidence, what does it become?
Background
Topic: Scientific Method
This question tests your understanding of how scientific ideas gain acceptance and become established.
Key Terms:
Theory: A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the progression from hypothesis to a more widely accepted scientific explanation.
Think about examples of scientific theories (e.g., theory of evolution, cell theory).
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q11. What is the variable manipulated by the researcher called?
Background
Topic: Experimental Design
This question tests your understanding of variables in scientific experiments.
Key Terms:
Independent variable: The variable that is changed or controlled in a scientific experiment.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Identify the variable that the researcher intentionally changes (e.g., amount of fertilizer).
Recall the terminology for this variable in experimental design.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q12. What is the variable measured by the researcher called?
Background
Topic: Experimental Design
This question tests your understanding of dependent and independent variables in experiments.
Key Terms:
Dependent variable: The variable being tested and measured in an experiment.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Identify the outcome that is measured in response to changes in the independent variable.
Recall the terminology for this variable in experimental design.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q13. What are the names of the groups that receive and do not receive treatment in an experiment?
Background
Topic: Experimental Design
This question tests your understanding of control and experimental groups in scientific studies.
Key Terms:
Experimental group: Receives the treatment.
Control group: Does not receive the treatment and is used for comparison.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the purpose of having different groups in an experiment.
Identify which group receives the treatment and which does not.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q14. What is the scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of life?
Background
Topic: Evolution
This question tests your understanding of the central theory that explains both the similarities and differences among living organisms.
Key Terms:
Evolution: The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall Darwin's contributions to biology.
Think about how evolution explains both unity (shared traits) and diversity (differences) among organisms.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q15. What is the mechanism for evolution described by Darwin?
Background
Topic: Evolution
This question tests your understanding of the process Darwin proposed as the main driver of evolutionary change.
Key Terms:
Natural selection: The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the main mechanism Darwin described in his book "On the Origin of Species".
Think about how this mechanism leads to adaptation and evolution over time.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q16. In an ecosystem, what are plants called because they produce their own food?
Background
Topic: Ecosystem Roles
This question tests your understanding of the roles organisms play in ecosystems, specifically those that produce their own food.
Key Terms:
Producers (autotrophs): Organisms that make their own food, usually through photosynthesis.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the different roles in an ecosystem (producers, consumers, decomposers).
Identify which term applies to plants based on their ability to produce food.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q17. What are the other parts of the ecosystem (e.g., animals and fungi) called?
Background
Topic: Ecosystem Roles
This question tests your understanding of the classification of organisms based on their ecological roles.
Key Terms:
Consumers (heterotrophs): Organisms that eat other organisms (e.g., animals).
Decomposers: Organisms that break down dead material (e.g., fungi).
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the main categories of organisms in an ecosystem besides producers.
Match animals and fungi to their respective ecological roles.
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
Q18. In an ecosystem, what happens to chemicals and energy?
Background
Topic: Ecosystem Dynamics
This question tests your understanding of how matter and energy move through ecosystems.
Key Terms:
Chemical cycling: The reuse of chemical elements within an ecosystem.
Energy flow: The one-way movement of energy through an ecosystem, typically entering as sunlight and leaving as heat.
Step-by-Step Guidance
Recall the difference between how chemicals and energy move in ecosystems.
Think about the fate of energy (e.g., lost as heat) versus chemicals (e.g., recycled).
Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!
