BIO CHAPTER 1Mr. Boucher

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1 – What is scienceA – a methodology of thinkingB – a way of researching the physical worldC – a body of knowledge

2 – Only with all three together can we actually have true science

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3 – Only studies the physical world, things that are testable and disprovableA – why do we want to disprove instead of prove?

- keeps us honest- if you try to prove something, you

probably will- if you can’t disprove something

it’s worth looking into

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B – rarely prove things in certain terms- uncertainty is fun

C – can still make predictions about the outcomes of events- predictions can be useful

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1 – Scientific methodA – people think it’s complicated, but use it all the time – example of car

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The scientific method parts 1 – observation: noticing and describing

things in a careful, orderly way. B – Look at something everyone has

seen, think something no-one has thought. Which leads to questions no-one has asked.

2 – Asking questions A good observation is only worth it if

it leads to good questions

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Don’t forget to use all your senses You want as many senses and tools

involved as possible.

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This stops you from making mistakes Just because you see

it doesn’t mean you can believe it

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2 – Asking questions A good observation is only worth it if

it leads to good questionsExample: In the 17th (1668) century there was

a debate over what caused food to spoil. Spontaneous Generation: living things,

like maggots, could arise from nonliving substances.

Biogenesis: living things can only come from other living things.

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3 – hypothesizing & Inferences A – Inference: logical interpretation of

what was observed

B – Hypothesis: scientific explanation for observations that can be tested

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Experiments 1 – the fun part of science 2 – multiple parts to a proper (Controlled)

experiment A – variables: these are the things that

change in an experiment. Anything that can be changed or different can be a variable

B – only test one variable at a time

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C – types of variables - independent variable: the

variable you deliberately change - can also be called manipulative variable

- Dependent variable: the change you observe. It is the response in the experiment to the independent variable

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3 – control group: a group in the experiment that is exposed to all the same conditions except for the independent variable

4 – usually have several sets of control groups and several experimental groups running at the same time

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5 – Data: the information gathered during experiments or research – must be gathered carefully

6 – two types A – quantitative data: numbers

gathered by counting or measuring B – qualitative data: descriptive data

involve characteristics

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7 – tools: any and all things used during experiments or research to either gain information or run the experiment

8 – sources of error: anything that could make the experiment not work or give results you weren’t expecting.

A – This can be one of the most important parts of your lab reports.

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9 – Conclusions: is the original hypothesis right or wrong? Do parts of it need to be revised? Etc.

A – Usually you need multiple experiments to draw solid conclusions about any one hypothesis

B – Often only portions of hypothesis are confirmed or reformed

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Ethics – is something right or wrong? Ethics often dictates whether an

experiment can be carried out or not.