What is biology
- Biology encompasses a wide scale of size a huge variety of life, both past and present.
What are the seven common properties of life?
Define the term science
derived from a Latin verb meaning “to know.”
– Science is a way of knowing, based on inquiry.
What two key features distinguish science from other types of inquiry?
Science depends on observations and measurements that others can verify
What are the two types of scientific approaches? What is the difference between them?
– Discovery science is mostly about describing nature.
– Hypothesis-driven science is mostly about explaining nature
What is the scientific method? Be sure you can list the steps in order.
Give the two requirements for a good hypothesis
– It must be testable
– It must be falsifiable
Distinguish between a hypothesis, prediction, theory, and law.
What is a control variable? What is a positive control? What is a negative control?
Control variable receive no treatment. Positive control receives a treatment with a known result. Negative control is a group with no response to be expected.
What is the independent variable? What is a dependent variable? Standardized variables?
Define the following: element, trace element, atom, isotope, ion, compound, and molecule.
-An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means.
- Trace elements are elements that are
– required in only very small amounts
– essential for life.
Atom: the smallest unit of matter that still retains the property of an element .
- Isotopes are alternate mass forms of an element.
- Ions are charged atoms.
- compounds (substances that contain two or more elements in a fixed ratio).
-molecule (two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds).
Describe the “anatomy” of an atom. What subatomic particles make up an atom and where are they located? You should be able to draw this out.
How many electrons can the innermost electron shell hold? How many can the second electron shell hold? How many in the 3rd? What is the significance of having an unfilled outer shell? (Hint –define chemical reaction)
Make sure you are familiar and can define/identify the following on the periodic chart: Element symbol, atomic number, mass number.
Element symbol in the middle, atomic number is located on the top of the element symbol, mass number is located under the element symbol.
What is an ionic bond? A covalent bond? A hydrogen bond?
What is a chemical reaction? What is the difference between a reactant and a product?
Water is a polar molecule. Describe what this means and why water is a polar molecule.
Water is a compound in which the electrons in its covalent bonds are not shared equally resulting in an uneven distribution of charge, hence a polar molecule.
What is the significance of the fact that water is a polar molecule?
Water’s polarity allows it to dissolve other polar substances very easily. The dissolving power of water is very important for life on Earth.
List the four key life-supporting properties of water. Give at least one example of each and how that property contributes to supporting life.
Properties of water:
What is heat? What is temperature?
What is evaporative cooling?
is the process of removing heat from a surface due to the evaporation of water.
Define the following: solution, solute, solvent, aqueous solution.
Define pH. What is an acid? What is a base?
What is a buffer?
Buffers are substances that resist pH change.