Biology 112

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Biology 112

• Defining Biology?
• Characteristics of Life
• The Scientific Method

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What is Biology?

• Biology is the study of life.
• How do we define LIFE?

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Characteristics of Life

• All living things
• Consume material needed for energy production.
• Excrete waste products.
• Are composed of at least 1 or more cells.
• Are capable of growth.
• Are capable of reproduction either sexually or
  asexually.
• Eventually cease to exist (die).

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The Scientific Method

• Logical problem solving approach used by all
  scientists that do research.
• It was developed by Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
• It is composed of 6 main steps.

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6 Steps

• 1.Asking a Question observe a situation and
  then ask a question.
• 2.Forming a Hypothesis a possible answer to the
  question being ask. It is written as an If
  Then statement.
• 3.Setting up a Controlled Experiment In a
  controlled experiment all variables are held
  constant except for the one variable being
  tested. The variable that is deliberately changed
  is called the manipulated or independent
  variable. The variable that is observed and that
  changes in response to the manipulated variable
  is called the responding or dependent variable.

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• 4.Recording Analyzing Results This is where
  you gather information from your experiment
  through observation. There are 2 types of
  observations
• Quantitative those that are measured with
  numbers.
• Qualitative are those that involve
  descriptions.
• 5. Drawing a Conclusion The conclusion must
  refer back to the stated hypothesis. This is
  where our hypothesis is either accepted,
  rejected, or altered.
• 6. Report Results This is when we send our
  experiment and results to a scientific magazine
  for other scientists to read over, reproduce, and
  scrutinize.

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This is the only way Science can succeed!