Genzoo.C1

• Zoology


  The study of the structure, function, and interspecific relationships between different animals. A primary goal is to understand the origin and evolution of different species of animals.
• Subdivisions of Zoology


  • Anatomy
  • Physiology
  • Morphology
  • Ecology
  • Ethology
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genetics
  • Paleontology
  • Taxonomy
  • Biogeography
  • Parasitology
  • Comparative anatomy
  • Developmental biology
  • Molecular biology
• Fact


  A basic statement established by experiment or observation. All facts are TRUE under the specific conditions of the observation.
• Hypothesis


  An educated guess, a prediction, or a tentative or proposed explanation that can be tested
• Examples of Hypotheses


  • Increased exposure to sunlight causes skin cancer
  • Consuming caffeine improves athletic performance
  • Smoking is a cause of lung cancer
  • Exposure to lead in drinking water causes developmental delays in children
• Theory


  A comprehensive explanation of an important feature of nature supported by facts gathered over time. Theories also allow scientists to make predictions about as yet unobserved phenomena.
• Examples of Theories


  • Big Bang theory
  • Theory of Evolution
• Law


  A concise and generally applicable description of a natural phenomenon, often expressed mathematically. A law describes a pattern that is consistently observed and verified, without providing an explanation for why the phenomenon occurs.
• Examples of Scientific Laws

  • Newton's laws of motion
  • Law of conservation of energy
  • Law of conservation of mass
  • Boyle's law
  • Ohm's law
• Scientific Method


  1. Make an observation, ask question, and research

  2. Form a hypothesis

  3. Test the hypothesis

  4. Collect, Organize and Analyze the Data

  5. Draw Conclusions

  6. Communicate the results
• Directly proportional


  Voltage across two points is directly proportional to the resistance between them
• Scientific method


  • Systematic process of empirical investigation (verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic)
• 6 Steps to the Scientific Method

  1. Make an observation, ask question, and research

  2. Form a hypothesis

  3. Test the hypothesis

  4. Collect, Organize and Analyze the Data

  5. Draw Conclusions

  6. Communicate the results
• Observation


  Could be perceived through your senses
• Hypothesis


  A hypothesis tries to predict or determine the outcome of your experiment even before the experiment is done. Predictions usually stated in an "if...then" statement
• Hypothesis must be testable
• Data


  Recorded observations or measurements (qualitative = description, quantitative = number data)
• Collect, Organize & Analyze Data

  1. Data collected from experiments

  2. Data is organized in tables, charts and graphs so that it can be more easily analyzed
• Draw Conclusions


  1. Scientists decide whether the results of the experiment support a hypothesis

  2. When the hypothesis is not supported by the tests the scientist must find another explanation for what they have observed
• No experiment is a failure: All experiments are observations of real events
• Communicate the Results


  1. Results must be communicated in the form of a written paper or presentation

  2. Communication helps other scientists performing the same experiments to see if the results of your experiment are the same as their results
• Characteristics of Living Things
• Cell


  The smallest unit of a living thing. A living thing, whether made of one cell (like bacteria) or many cells (like a human), is called an organism
• Growth


  An increase in size and mass of a particular organism over a period of time
• Development


  A process wherein a particular organism transforms itself from a lone cell into a more complicated multicellular organism
• Example of Growth and Development in biology
• Energy


  The ability of organisms to do work that allows them to move
• Cellular respiration


  The process by which energy is released by the breakdown of food substances
• Metabolism


  The sum of all chemical processes and energy changes happening inside the body of an organism
• Nutrition


  The process by which organisms acquire food
• Nonliving things also absorb water and minerals, but unlike living things, they are unable to convert the absorbed substance to become part of themselves
• Reproduction


  A process by which genetic information is passed on from one generation to another as organisms passed produce offspring
• Sexual reproduction


  Two parents are involved by the union of their sex cells to produce a unique individual of their kind
• Asexual reproduction


  An organism makes copies of itself, as commonly found in lower life forms
• Motility


  Movement from one place to another by walking, flying, swimming, gliding or jumping
• Corals may not appear to be moving all the time, but rather they are attached to a substrate after reaching adulthood compared to during their juvenile stage
• Some animals such as sponges are sedentary, but they can move parts of their bodies
• Plants also show slow movements of parts like bending toward light, and vines creeping as they grow, in flowers blooming, tendrils clinging for support, shoots
• Irritability


  The reaction of an organism to stimuli (anything that makes you react)
• Irritability


  • Houseflies are easily attracted to smelly foods
  • Sunflowers bend their stalks and follow the sun's direction
  • A baby cries when hungry