Unit 1: Biology and the Scientific Method

What is Science?

The Goal of Science

1. deals only with the natural world
2. to collect and organize information
3. propose explanations that can be tested

Science – using evidence to learn about the natural world; a body of knowledge

Science begins with observations – often taking data on what you see, hear, or smell

• data – the information gathered from observations
• quantitative data = numbers
• qualitative data = descriptive

Inference – a logical interpretation based on prior knowledge or experience (Ex.  You see a window broken and a baseball on the floor next to the shattered glass.  You can -infer- that a baseball broke your window)

Hypothesis – a proposed scientific explanation.  This statement is testable and can be confirmed with experimentation or further observation.

Prediction – An if-then statement that shows what you expect to see as a result of an experiment or observation  (Ex.  If fertilizer makes a plant grow faster, then seedlings planted with fertilizer will be taller than the ones planted without fertilizer)

Steps of the Scientific Method

1. Ask questions, make observations
2. Gather information
3. Form a hypothesis
4. Set up a controlled experiment
   Manipulated variable – the variable that is deliberately changed (independent variable)
   Responding variable is variable that is observed ( aka dependent variable
5. Record and analyze results
6. Draw a conclusion
7. Repeat