BIOLOGY 101: CLASS NOTES FOR UNIT 1
TEST Q & A
Unit 1 test: September 13, 2018
8/23/18 Biology 101
Examples of biology!!!
1. One day in 1948, a swiss naturalist, George de Mestral went on a
nature hike w his dog. He was curious about the burs attached to his
pants…. 2 years later Velcro was invented!! OBSERVATIONS
2. Why are there bumps on the leading edge of the fins?
To help them swim & cut through the water and reduce drag and turbulence
Now they made wind turbines & large ceiling fans
Someone took this observation and explored it and put it to use in our
world
▪ Creative, analytical thinking involved understanding a system and
being able to make connections between that particular systems
and other systems. It’s more than memorization of facts… We
want to help you develop study skills that allow you to master
both routine and difficult concepts
o The assigned readings are meant to provide background
material.
o We have regular in class quizzes
What is learning?
• Knowing things in a context and being able to do something with it.
• Multiple brains are usually better than one work w a study group!!!
• Harry Crews “I hope you will not do yourself the disservice of
thinking that you are an empty vessel that is my duty to pour full of
knowledge”
• Learning and academic equation:
Intelligence (beyond our control) X Skills X Motivation X Sweat
• These are all under your control. Limited only by lack of desire
etc.
• Take notes by hand for memorization.
• Multitasking lowers test performance!!! multitasking = micro tasking
, BIOLOGY 101: CLASS NOTES FOR UNIT 1
TEST Q & A
• Being in view of someone multitasking lowers test
performance
• Be resilient
Clicker Questions:
Questions will emphasize concrete, real-world applications of concepts as well
as background understanding.
Biology 101
8-28-18
Thursday: Characteristics of Life, Evolution
Biology is connected to our lives in many ways: environmental problems and
solutions, genetic engineering, medicine in health.
What is science?
Is a process of answering questions about the natural world.
-A way to engage with the world
-Science is an ever-changing process.
Cognitive domains
Belief, Aesthetic, Empirical. Belief- Religions, myths Belief driven data
independent.
Empirical- Research history sciences. Evidence driven data dependent.
Aesthetic Expression: Visual, Literature, Music, Dance. Sensibility Driven.
How do they differ? But are very different in their legitimating criteria.
Evolution has to happen, and it happens constantly.
In discovery science: scientists describe some aspect of the world and use
inductive reasoning to draw general conclusions.
, BIOLOGY 101: CLASS NOTES FOR UNIT 1
TEST Q & A
Example: I wonder what lives under that rock?
, BIOLOGY 101: CLASS NOTES FOR UNIT 1
TEST Q & A
Hypothesis based science: scientists attempt to explain observations by
testing hypotheses.
Example:
Proposed answer:
Categories of scientific/ empirical knowledge
Observations: empirically verifiable “facts” as agreed upon by rational
observers (data)
Questions:
Inductively derived conceptualizations
Generalizations (typically descriptive)
Hypotheses (usually explanatory) Theories
(synthetic and explanatory)
Predictions:
What characterizes a good question in science?
A question that is specific and that can be answered empirically.
Logic- Two forms: induction (general principles) and deduction (specific
instances).
“Robin eggs are blue” is a statement of scientific knowledge.
-a descriptive generalization. Statement above is inductively derived.
(But robin eggs may be different shades and intensities of blue.) Statement is
legitimate.
The problem is have we ever seen all robin eggs? We haven’t seen robin
eggs of the future.
Why are they a different shade of blue? Possible hypothesis: Diets cause
different shades of blue.
Male robin eggs example: Male robin eggs are more diligent in caring for their
kids if the eggs are a bright shade of blue.
What characterizes a good hypothesis in science? Specific to the
question.
Consistent with the data.
TEST Q & A
Unit 1 test: September 13, 2018
8/23/18 Biology 101
Examples of biology!!!
1. One day in 1948, a swiss naturalist, George de Mestral went on a
nature hike w his dog. He was curious about the burs attached to his
pants…. 2 years later Velcro was invented!! OBSERVATIONS
2. Why are there bumps on the leading edge of the fins?
To help them swim & cut through the water and reduce drag and turbulence
Now they made wind turbines & large ceiling fans
Someone took this observation and explored it and put it to use in our
world
▪ Creative, analytical thinking involved understanding a system and
being able to make connections between that particular systems
and other systems. It’s more than memorization of facts… We
want to help you develop study skills that allow you to master
both routine and difficult concepts
o The assigned readings are meant to provide background
material.
o We have regular in class quizzes
What is learning?
• Knowing things in a context and being able to do something with it.
• Multiple brains are usually better than one work w a study group!!!
• Harry Crews “I hope you will not do yourself the disservice of
thinking that you are an empty vessel that is my duty to pour full of
knowledge”
• Learning and academic equation:
Intelligence (beyond our control) X Skills X Motivation X Sweat
• These are all under your control. Limited only by lack of desire
etc.
• Take notes by hand for memorization.
• Multitasking lowers test performance!!! multitasking = micro tasking
, BIOLOGY 101: CLASS NOTES FOR UNIT 1
TEST Q & A
• Being in view of someone multitasking lowers test
performance
• Be resilient
Clicker Questions:
Questions will emphasize concrete, real-world applications of concepts as well
as background understanding.
Biology 101
8-28-18
Thursday: Characteristics of Life, Evolution
Biology is connected to our lives in many ways: environmental problems and
solutions, genetic engineering, medicine in health.
What is science?
Is a process of answering questions about the natural world.
-A way to engage with the world
-Science is an ever-changing process.
Cognitive domains
Belief, Aesthetic, Empirical. Belief- Religions, myths Belief driven data
independent.
Empirical- Research history sciences. Evidence driven data dependent.
Aesthetic Expression: Visual, Literature, Music, Dance. Sensibility Driven.
How do they differ? But are very different in their legitimating criteria.
Evolution has to happen, and it happens constantly.
In discovery science: scientists describe some aspect of the world and use
inductive reasoning to draw general conclusions.
, BIOLOGY 101: CLASS NOTES FOR UNIT 1
TEST Q & A
Example: I wonder what lives under that rock?
, BIOLOGY 101: CLASS NOTES FOR UNIT 1
TEST Q & A
Hypothesis based science: scientists attempt to explain observations by
testing hypotheses.
Example:
Proposed answer:
Categories of scientific/ empirical knowledge
Observations: empirically verifiable “facts” as agreed upon by rational
observers (data)
Questions:
Inductively derived conceptualizations
Generalizations (typically descriptive)
Hypotheses (usually explanatory) Theories
(synthetic and explanatory)
Predictions:
What characterizes a good question in science?
A question that is specific and that can be answered empirically.
Logic- Two forms: induction (general principles) and deduction (specific
instances).
“Robin eggs are blue” is a statement of scientific knowledge.
-a descriptive generalization. Statement above is inductively derived.
(But robin eggs may be different shades and intensities of blue.) Statement is
legitimate.
The problem is have we ever seen all robin eggs? We haven’t seen robin
eggs of the future.
Why are they a different shade of blue? Possible hypothesis: Diets cause
different shades of blue.
Male robin eggs example: Male robin eggs are more diligent in caring for their
kids if the eggs are a bright shade of blue.
What characterizes a good hypothesis in science? Specific to the
question.
Consistent with the data.
