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Biology, The Scientific Method & The Metric System
Biology, The Scientific Method & The Metric System
CHAPTER I
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
What is Biology?
Biology is the science that studies life. But then, what exactly is
life and what is considered alive? This may sound like a silly question with
an obvious answer as it is not always easy to define life. For example, a
branch of biology called virology studies viruses, which exhibit some of the
characteristics of living entities but lack others. It turns out that although
viruses can attack living organisms, cause diseases, and even reproduce,
they do not meet the criteria that biologists use to define life.
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
All the individuals of a species living within a specific area are collectively called a population. For example, a forest may
include many white pine trees. All of these pine trees represent the population of white pine trees in this forest. Different
populations may live in the same specific area. For example, the forest with the pine trees includes populations of flowering
plants and also insects and microbial populations. A community is the set of populations inhabiting a particular area. For
instance, all of the trees, flowers, insects, and other populations in a forest form the forest’s community. The forest itself
is an ecosystem. An ecosystem consists of all the living things in a particular area together with the abiotic, or non-living,
parts of that environment such as nitrogen in the soil or rainwater. At the highest level of organization, the biosphere is
the collection of all ecosystems, and it represents the zones of life on Earth. It includes land, water, and portions of the
atmosphere.
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
DNA containing genes (encoded information) is passed along to an organism’s offspring. These genes are the reason
that the offspring will belong to the same species and will have characteristics similar to the parent, such as fur color and
blood type.
The Diversity of Life and How All Its Forms Are Organized
Biodiversity is a term used to include all forms of life in its great variety. About 1.8 million species have been identified and
some estimates about the actual number of species indicate that more than 200 million species might exist! In recent past
years, as there has been growing concern about the degradation of our environment and the extinction or threat of extinction
of many species in many parts of the world, interest in the diversity of organisms and in their evolutionary relationships has
greatly increased. Biodiversity is a resource of immense direct medicinal (most prescription drugs are derived from living
organisms), agricultural and consumptive values.
To keep track and organize the study of all these species, a branch of biology called taxonomy (from the Greek tasso,
arrange, classify, and nomos, usage law) uses a classification system that categorizes organisms into similar groups following
a hierarchy that was developed in the 18th century by Karl von Linné. This Swedish physician and botanist also often called
Carolus Linnaeus, assigned scientific names to species. Following a binomial nomenclature, to prevent confusion as with
common names, each species name is a unique combination of two Latin words: the genus (group of species) and the
specific epithet (species name). Sometimes the species name provides some descriptive information about the organism.
For example: Alligator mississippiensis - the American alligator; Homo sapiens - humans, ‘wise’ species of the Homo genus;
or Scaptia beyonceae - a horse fly with a
golden abdomen tip, named after the
famous singer Beyoncé Knowles.
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
The highest level, domain, is a relatively new addition to the system since the 1990s. Scientists now recognize three domains
of life, the Eukarya, the Archaea, and the Bacteria. The domain Eukarya contains organisms that have cells with a nucleus
which encloses the DNA. It includes the kingdoms of fungi, plants, animals, and several kingdoms of protists. The Archaea,
are single-celled organisms without a nucleus (their
DNA is free in the cell) with species that live in harsh
environments like hot springs. The Bacteria are another
quite different group of single-celled organisms without
a nucleus.
The evolutionary relationships of various life forms on
Earth can be summarized in a phylogenetic tree. A
phylogenetic tree is a diagram showing the evolutionary
relationships among biological species based on
similarities and differences in genetic or physical traits
or both. A phylogenetic tree is composed of branch
points, or nodes, and branches. The internal nodes
represent ancestors and are points in evolution when,
based on scientific evidence, an ancestor is thought to
have diverged to form two new species. The length of
each branch can be considered as estimates of relative
The Three Domains of Life. Organisms of the three domains of life
time.
share basic similarities (Credits: CNX OpenStax, CC BY 4.0)
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
What is Science?
Like geology, physics, and chemistry, biology is a science that gathers knowledge about the natural world. Science (from the
Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") can be defined as knowledge about the
natural world. Science is a very specific way of learning, or knowing, about the
world. The history of the past 500 years demonstrates that science is a very
powerful way of knowing about the world; it is largely responsible for the
technological revolutions that have taken place during this time. There are
however, areas of knowledge and human experience that the methods of
science cannot be applied to. These include such things as answering purely
moral questions, aesthetic questions, or what can be generally categorized as
spiritual questions. Science cannot investigate these areas because they are
outside the realm of material phenomena, the phenomena of matter and
energy, and cannot be observed and measured.
Like politics, science has considerable practical implications and has
transformed human existence and will continue to do so. Some area of science
is dedicated to practical applications, such as the prevention of disease. Other Science. Some fields of science include
science proceeds largely motivated by curiosity. One of the main purposes of astronomy, biology, computer science, geology,
science is to elaborate scientific theories which allow to understand the world logic, physics, chemistry, and mathematics
and predict and explain events before they happen. A scientific theory is a (credits: Image Editor, CC BY 2.0).
generally accepted, thoroughly tested and confirmed explanation for a set of
observations or phenomena. In 2008, the United States National Academy of Sciences provided the following description of
scientific theories: “the formal scientific definition of theory is quite different from the everyday meaning of the word. It refers
to a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence. Many scientific theories
are so well established that no new evidence is likely to alter them substantially. For example, no new evidence will
demonstrate that the Earth does not orbit around the sun (heliocentric theory), or that living things are not made of cells (cell
theory), that matter is not composed of atoms, or that the surface of the Earth is not divided into solid plates that have moved
over geological timescales (the theory of plate tectonics)...One of the most useful properties of scientific theories is that they
can be used to make predictions about natural events or phenomena that have not yet been observed.” In biology, the theory
of evolution is the unifying concept as it explains all that we know about organisms. Its concept is that all organisms have a
common ancestor and change over time as a result of natural selection of heritable traits.
(1) Observation
The scientific process typically starts with an observation (often a problem to be solved) that leads to a question. Let’s
think about a simple problem that starts with an observation and apply the scientific method to solve the problem. One
Monday morning, a student arrives at class and quickly discovers that the classroom is too warm. That is an observation
that also describes a problem: the classroom is too warm.
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
(2) Question
The student then asks a question: “Why is the classroom so
warm?”
(3) Hypothesis
Recall that a hypothesis is a suggested explanation that can be
tested. To solve a problem, several hypotheses may be proposed.
For example, one hypothesis might be, “The classroom is warm
because no one turned on the air conditioning.” But there could be
other responses to the question, and therefore other hypotheses
may be proposed. A second hypothesis might be, “The classroom
is warm because there is a power failure, and so the air
conditioning doesn’t work.”
(4) Prediction
Once a hypothesis has been formulated, a prediction may be
made. A prediction is similar to a hypothesis but it typically has the
format “If … then …” For example, the prediction for the first
hypothesis might be, “If the student turns on the air conditioning,
then the classroom will no longer be too warm.”
(5) Experiments/Observations
A hypothesis must be testable to ensure that it is valid. For
example, a hypothesis that depends on what a bear thinks is not
testable, because it can never be known what a bear thinks. It
should also be falsifiable, meaning that it can be disproven by
experimental results. An example of an unfalsifiable hypothesis is
“Botticelli’s Birth of Venus is beautiful.” There is no experiment that
might show this statement to be false. To test a hypothesis, a
researcher will conduct one or more experiments designed to
eliminate one or more of the hypotheses. This is important. A hypothesis can be disproven, or eliminated, but it can never
be proven. Science does not deal in proofs like mathematics.
The Scientific Method. The scientific method is a series
(6) Conclusion of defined steps that include experiments and careful
If the results fail to disprove a hypothesis, then we find support for observation. If a hypothesis is not supported by data, a
that explanation, but this is not to say that down the road a better new hypothesis can be proposed
explanation will not be found, or a more carefully designed (credits: Image Editor, CC BY 4.0).
experiment will be found to falsify the hypothesis.
Designing Experiments
Each experiment will have one or more variables and one or more controls.
A variable is any part of the experiment that can vary or change during the
experiment. The control group contains every feature of the experimental
group except it is not given the manipulation that the researcher
hypothesizes. Therefore, if the experimental group's results differ from the
control group, the difference must be due to the hypothesized manipulation,
rather than some outside factor. Look for the variables and controls in the
examples that follow. To test the first hypothesis, the student would find out if
the air conditioning is on. If the air conditioning is turned on but does not work,
there should be another reason, and the student should reject this hypothesis.
To test the second hypothesis, the student could check if the lights in the
classroom are functional. If so, there is no power failure and the student should
reject this hypothesis. The students should test each hypothesis by carrying Designing Experiments. A lab technician,
out appropriate experiments. Again, rejecting one hypothesis does not prepares media for plant tissue culture in a tissue
determine whether or not one can accept the other hypotheses. It simply culture lab in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (credit:
ILRI/Stevie Mann, CC BY 2.0).
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
eliminates one hypothesis that is not valid. Using the scientific method, the student rejects the hypotheses that are inconsistent
with experimental data.
Pseudoscience
There are many journals and the popular press that do not use a peer-review system. A large
number of online open-access journals, journals with articles available without cost, are now
available many of which use rigorous peer-review systems, but some of which do not. Usually,
rigorous and credible scientific information can be found on the websites of educational (.edu),
governmental (.gov) institutions and for non-profit organizations (.org). Results of any studies
published in media without peer review are not reliable can make claims that are not supported
by evidence (data). Such publications consist of practices or beliefs that are not screened
through the scientific method, proper experimental design and peer-review. They fail to be
testable, reproducible and falsifiable. This has led the scientific community to qualify certain
topics as pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is wide spread in the health field and is commonly
used as a way to promote products and practices and make profit. However, it can be harmful
especially when used for treatment of serious diseases. Topics that have been characterized
Pseudoscience. Phrenology
as pseudoscience include homeopathy, colon cleansing, ear candling, detoxification, is a pseudoscience that
numerology, astrology, ufology, graphology. studies the skull to predict
personality and abilities.
(credits: Minivalley, CC BY-SA
3.0).
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
The metric system is used to record measurements in most industrial countries of the world
and in science laboratories in all countries. It was designed to be convenient, easy and
versatile. The units are based on the natural world, decimal ratios, prefixes for multiples and
sub-multiples, and a structure of base and derived units. Within each category, the units vary
by powers of 10. The metric system is also known as the International System of Units (SI).
Some of the reasons why the US have kept the Imperial system and not switched to SI,
although simpler to work with, are time and money.
Metric Units. Four metric measuring devices - a tape measure, a thermometer, a one kilogram weight
and an electrical multimeter, selected to show some of the units of measure that are part of the metric
system: kilograms, degrees Celsius, amperes, volts and ohms. (Credit: Martinvl, CC BY-SA 3.0)
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
ENGLISH TO METRIC
UNIT - ABBREVIATION METRIC EQUIVALENT
EQUIVALENTS (APPROX.)
LENGTH
nanometer - nm 10-9 m (10-3 µm)
micrometer - µm 10-6 m (10-3 mm)
millimeter - mm 0.001 (10-3) m
centimeter - cm 0.01 (10-2) m 1 inch = 2.54 cm
WEIGHT (MASS)
nanogram - ng 10-9 g
microgram - µg 10-6 g
milligram - mg 10-3 g
gram - g 1,000 mg 1 ounce = 28.3 g
1 pound = 454 g = 0.45 kg
kilogram - kg 1,000 (103) g
metric ton - t 1,000 kg 1 ton = 0.91 t
VOLUME
microliter - µl 10-6 l (10-3 ml) 1 tsp = 5 ml
milliliter - ml 10-3 l 1 fl oz = 30 ml
1 cc = 1 cm3 = 1,000 mm3
Temperatures
Celsius °C Fahrenheit °F
0 32 Water freezes
37 98.6 Human body temperature
100 212 Water boils
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New York City College of Technology Human Biology – BIO1100
Biological Sciences Department
Review Questions
1. Define Biology
4. What is taxonomy?
7. Define Science
9. Why is the scientific method necessary for reliable and credible science?
10. Explain why the metric system easier to use than the Imperial system
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