Study of Life Questions With Complete Solutions
Compare and contrast inductive reasoning and hypothesis-based
science. Correct Answers - Inductive reasoning and hypothesis-
based science are both methods of explaining science and
coming to conclusions.
- Inductive reasoning involves generalizations through repeated
observation (specific to broad).
- Hypothesis-based science employs the scientific method to
provide explanations to more specific questions (broad to
specific).
Describe descent with modification. Why are cells, DNA,
mutations, sexual reproduction, and reproductive success
important to this concept? Correct Answers - Descent with
modification: Passing traits from parent to offspring, a line of
ancestry that means change. As living organisms live and evolve
they slowly change over time.
- Cells: Carry the DNA
- DNA: Genetic makeup; includes instructions to make proteins.
Small modifications occur in DNA every time an offspring
descends from its parents. These modifications happen because
of replication and recombination of the parents' DNA and
because of random mutations in the resulting DNA of the
offspring.
- Mutations: Changes in DNA. Random mutations occur when
parents reproduce resulting in the DNA of the offspring
changing.
- Sexual reproduction: Small modifications occur in DNA every
time an offspring descends from its parents.
, - Reproductive success: To evolve and change over time, you
need to be able to reproduce. This allows the mixing of DNA
and mutations to both further the existence of an organism.
Explain what it means for a hypothesis to be "falsifiable".
Correct Answers If a hypothesis is falsifiable, it means that the
hypothesis can be tangibly proven right or wrong. A hypothesis
needs a way to be measured if it is true or false because you
cannot measure certain things.
Explain what the phrase "unity and diversity of life" refers to in
the context of chapter 22. How could this phrase be applied to
organisms that are distantly related? Closely related? Correct
Answers - All living things share one common ancestor and
they all descended from that one organism; however, we are all
diverse and different due to the process of evolution. -
"Diversity" refers to our differences in genetic traits and
characteristics and the term can also be applied to organisms that
are distantly related.
- "Unity" refers to organisms that are closely related, ones that
have common ancestry and characteristics.
How are descent with modification and natural selection related?
Correct Answers Over time, natural selection may increase the
frequency of adaptations in a population that are favorable in a
given environment; this in turn leads to descent with
modification because those traits are passed through many
generations.
How are reductionism and systems biology different? Similar?
Correct Answers - Reductionism and systems biology are both