BIOL 1013 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Carbohydrate, Rna, Protein
BIOL 1013
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Process of Science (Ch.1)
❏Driving Questions
❏How is the scientific method used to test hypotheses?
❏What factors influence the strength of scientific studies and whether the results of
any given study are applicable to a particular population?
❏How can you evaluate the evidence in media reports of scientific studies?
❏How does the scientific method apply in clinical trials designed to investigate
important issues in human health?
❏What is science?
❏A method to answer questions
❏A process of using observations and experiments to draw evidence-based
conclusions
❏A way of knowing
❏How do scientists draw conclusions?
❏Use best evidence available
❏Ask: Was the science performed properly?
❏Conclusions may be modified in the future
❏Science is a never-ending process
❏Make an observation
❏Start with an interesting, informal observation
❏Often unreliable, untested
❏Anecdotal evidence
❏Formulate a question
❏Use an observation to devise a question
❏Studying previous research
❏Read relevant literature
❏See current information on the subject of interest
❏Study peer-reviewed scientific literature
❏Peer Review : review of an article by experts before publication
❏Ensures that the authors have appropriately designed and interpreted their study
❏Weeds out sloppy research
❏Forming scientific hypotheses
❏Uses information to formulate a scientific hypothesis
❏A testable and falsifiable explanation for a scientific observation or question
❏Testable: supported or rejected by carefully designed experiments or
nonexperimental studies
❏Falsifiable: can be ruled out by data
❏Not all explanations are scientific hypotheses
❏An explanation that cannot be tested or refuted, falls outside the realm of
scientific explanation
❏A hypothesis is never proven
❏If false, it is rejected and no longer considered a possible answer to the original
question
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❏If the data support the hypothesis, it will be accepted until further testing and data
show otherwise
❏Experimentation
❏Hypotheses can be tested using experimentation
❏An experiment is a carefully designed test
❏The results of an experiment either support or rule out a hypothesis
❏Experimental group: experiences the experimental intervention or manipulation
❏Control group: experiences no experimental intervention or manipulation
❏Basis for comparison
❏The experimental group experiences the independent variable
❏That is, the factor being deliberately changed in the experimental group
❏The control group receives a placebo
❏A placebo is a fake treatment that mimics the experience of the experimental
groups
❏The dependent variable is the measured result of an experiment
❏Analyzed in both the experimental and control groups
❏Evidence based conclusions can be drawn from results
❏Drawing conclusions
❏Confidence in the conclusions drawn from experimentation is increased by the
repetition of the experiment by other scientists
❏Sample size is important
❏It is the number of experimental subjects or the number of times an
experiment is repeated
❏The larger the sample size, the more likely the results will have statistical
significance
❏Statistical significance is a measure of confidence that the results
obtained are “real” rather than due to random chance
❏Publication
❏Experimental results are published in peer reviewed journals
❏Drawing Conclusions 2
❏A hypothesis that continues to hold up after many years of rigorous testing may
eventually be considered a scientific theory
❏Finding patterns
❏Some questions cannot be tested through controlled experiments
❏Through careful observations or comparisons of phenomena in nature, scientists
can find patterns to help answer questions
❏Epidemiology is the study of patterns of disease in populations
❏Observing patterns can show a consistent relationship or link between variables
❏Correlation between two variables does not prove that one variable causes the
other
❏Correlation is not causation
❏Drawing Conclusions 2
❏Exercise caution when evaluating epidemiology results
❏Hard to control for complexity of a disease
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
A process of using observations and experiments to draw evidence-based conclusions. Conclusions may be modified in the future. Use an observation to devise a question. See current information on the subject of interest. Peer review : review of an article by experts before publication. Ensures that the authors have appropriately designed and interpreted their study. Uses information to formulate a scientific hypothesis. A testable and falsifiable explanation for a scientific observation or question. Testable: supported or rejected by carefully designed experiments or nonexperimental studies. Falsifiable: can be ruled out by data. An explanation that cannot be tested or refuted, falls outside the realm of scientific explanation. If false, it is rejected and no longer considered a possible answer to the original question. If the data support the hypothesis, it will be accepted until further testing and data show otherwise. An experiment is a carefully designed test. The results of an experiment either support or rule out a hypothesis.
