The word "scientist" was only created in the late 1800's. Isn't that crazy? Only a bit more than a hundred years ago. It is used to refer to people who study natural phenomena, nature and human artifacts in a systematic way. Of course, there were people who were interested in such things before the word was created, but often they were quite careless in the way that they collected information and didn't go about observing and questioning in a "scientific" way. Nowadays, this systematic way is called the SCIENTIFIC METHOD.
The Scientific Method
1. Identify and define the problem or question
2. Collect information
3. Propose a hypothesis (Definition: A possible explanation for phenomena, facts or a scientific problem that can be tested and answered.)
4. Design experiments to test the hypothesis
5. Carry out experiments
6. Analyze data
7. Draw conclusions
- if the conclusions support the hypothesis, repeat steps 5, 6 and 7 several times
- if the conclusions refute (don't support) the hypothesis, check the experimental design and revise it.
When a hypothesis is well-supported it becomes a theory.
In biology, we often try to describe very complex systems that include interactions between many animals, plants and the non-living environment as well. To do this, we create models, which are schematic descriptions of the system, theory or phenomenon that account for the known or inferred properties and may be used for further studies of its characteristics.
In order for scientists to carry out experiments, they often work in labs or in the field with special equipment. In grade 10, we will hopefully do some lab and field work (although not much, there will be more in grade 11 and 12!).
To find out more about the scientific method, lab equipment and safety and how to think like a scientist please click here
BIOLOGY
- study of life
What is alive? How do we know?
1. Metabolism (anyagcsere)
- uptake, transport or elimination of matter and energy
-nutrition
-respiration
-excretion
-circulation
2. Growth and development
3. Reproduction
4. Movement
5. Response to stimuli
eg. adaptations, homeostasis
Biologists organize the world into non-living and living parts, with different levels of complexity, like this:
Organization
atoms ABIOTIC
molecules
cell organelles BIOTIC
cell
tissue
organ
organ systems
organism
population MADE UP OF MANY ORGANISMS
community
ecosystem BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC
biome GEOGRAPHICAL ZONE
biosphere EARTH
Evolution: The continuous process of change in the living world (often associated with changes in the chemical and physical world)
Really briefly:
Billions of years ago, the Earth was very different from the way it is now. It was essentially a giant ocean filled with abiotic (non-living) atoms and molecules. It is often referred to as the "primordial soup". As crazy as it seems, life developed from these abiotic molecules (more on that in grade 12). Mind you, it was very, very, very, very, very, simple. Over time these very simple life forms changed and increased in complexity to give us what we find on the Earth today.
Prokaryotes (aka bacteria) - they have no nucleus and that is what the word prokaryote means
Single-celled Eukaryotes (aka protists) - they have a nucleus (eukaryote means true nucleus)
Multi-celled Eurkaryotes - these are the fungi, plants and animals
Evolution is still occurring and life forms are changing as you read this.... Weird, isn't it?
In 1859, Charles Darwin published the "Origin of Species", which laid down the groundwork for evolution as we understand it today by considering relationships between species based on their ancestry.
Taxonomy: the study of grouping or classifying living organisms.
Humans have been trying to classify life for a long time
-Carolus Linnaeus created the 1st "natural" classification system in the 1735. It was called natural because it was based on relationships between the organisms as assessed by their physical characteristics. It grouped living organisms as species, then closely similar species and so on. You can probably see where it might run into problems, with for example whales and sharks). The Linnaean system gave each species 2 Latin names (binomial nomenclature) eg. Homo sapiens, which we still use today.
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Famous Hungarian taxonomist: Kitaibel Pál (1754-1817): he discovered over 150 plants species and numerous animals too.
NOW, we use phylogenetic classification which is based on the evolutionary history of a species. It uses:
- ontogeny (development)
- genetics
- behaviour
to determine relationships
TAXA:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Felidae
Genus Felis
Species lynx
*an easy way to remember the order of the taxa is to use a mnemonic device:
King Philip Came Over From Germany Saturday
The scientific name of the species is its genus name and its species name: Felis lynx
This is called binomial nomenclature because it is a 2-name naming system.
There are 5 Kingdoms:
K. Monera - prokaryotes (don't have a nucleus), unicellular, aka bacteria
K. Protista - eukaryotes (have a nucleus), mostly unicellular
K. Fungi - eukaryotes, multicellular, aka mushrooms and moulds
K. Plantae - eukaryotes, multicellular, aka plants
K. Animalia - eukaryotes, multicellular, aka animals
Scientists often use a dichotomous key to help them identify species that they do not recognize. A dichotomous key always gives the user 2 choices to choose between at each step until the species is identified.
Really briefly:
Billions of years ago, the Earth was very different from the way it is now. It was essentially a giant ocean filled with abiotic (non-living) atoms and molecules. It is often referred to as the "primordial soup". As crazy as it seems, life developed from these abiotic molecules (more on that in grade 12). Mind you, it was very, very, very, very, very, simple. Over time these very simple life forms changed and increased in complexity to give us what we find on the Earth today.
Prokaryotes (aka bacteria) - they have no nucleus and that is what the word prokaryote means
Single-celled Eukaryotes (aka protists) - they have a nucleus (eukaryote means true nucleus)
Multi-celled Eurkaryotes - these are the fungi, plants and animalsEvolution is still occurring and life forms are changing as you read this.... Weird, isn't it?
In 1859, Charles Darwin published the "Origin of Species", which laid down the groundwork for evolution as we understand it today by considering relationships between species based on their ancestry.
Taxonomy: the study of grouping or classifying living organisms.
Humans have been trying to classify life for a long time-Carolus Linnaeus created the 1st "natural" classification system in the 1735. It was called natural because it was based on relationships between the organisms as assessed by their physical characteristics. It grouped living organisms as species, then closely similar species and so on. You can probably see where it might run into problems, with for example whales and sharks). The Linnaean system gave each species 2 Latin names (binomial nomenclature) eg. Homo sapiens, which we still use today.
Famous Hungarian taxonomist: Kitaibel Pál (1754-1817): he discovered over 150 plants species and numerous animals too.
NOW, we use phylogenetic classification which is based on the evolutionary history of a species. It uses:
- ontogeny (development)
- genetics
- behaviour
to determine relationships
TAXA:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Felidae
Genus Felis
Species lynx
*an easy way to remember the order of the taxa is to use a mnemonic device:
King Philip Came Over From Germany Saturday
The scientific name of the species is its genus name and its species name: Felis lynx
This is called binomial nomenclature because it is a 2-name naming system.
There are 5 Kingdoms:
K. Monera - prokaryotes (don't have a nucleus), unicellular, aka bacteria
K. Protista - eukaryotes (have a nucleus), mostly unicellular
K. Fungi - eukaryotes, multicellular, aka mushrooms and moulds
K. Plantae - eukaryotes, multicellular, aka plants
K. Animalia - eukaryotes, multicellular, aka animals
Scientists often use a dichotomous key to help them identify species that they do not recognize. A dichotomous key always gives the user 2 choices to choose between at each step until the species is identified.
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