Solving a Biological Problem

Question 1

How many steps of a biological method?

Answer 1

1) Recognition of a biological problem.
2) Observation.
3) Hypothesis formulation.
4) Drawing deductions.
5) Experimentations.
6) Inferring the results.
7) Reporting the results

Question 2

what is recognition of a problem?

Answer 2

Biologists go for adopting biological methods when they encounter some biological problem. A biological problem is a question related to living organisms that are either asked by someone or
comes into the biologist’s mind by himself.

Question 3

what is observation?

Answer 3

As the first step in solving a biological problem, a biologist recalls his/her previous observations or
makes new ones. Observations are made with the five senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Observations may be both qualitative and quantitative.

Question 4

what is the first step to solving a biological problem?

Answer 4

Obervations

Question 5

what are the two types of observations?

Answer 5

qualitative and quantitative

Question 6

Why quantitative observations are more accurate?

Answer 6

Quantitative observations are more accurate than qualitative ones. Because they have the following characteristic features over qualitative ones.
1) they are invariable
2) They are measurable.
3) they can be recorded in terms of numbers
Quantitative observations are more easily compared because scientists can take the difference between numbers or observe changes in numbers easily.

Question 7

tentative?

Answer 7

not certain or fixed

Question 8

hypothesis vs hypotheses

Answer 8

singular - hypothesis
plural - hypotheses

Question 9

what is a hypothesis?

Answer 9

Biologist organizes his/her and others’ observations into data form and constructs a statement that may prove to be the answer to the biological problem under study. This tentative explanation of observations is called a hypothesis. It may be defined as a proposition that might be
true. Biologists use reasoning to formulate a hypothesis.
A hypothesis should have the following characteristics:
* It should be a general statement.
* It should be a tentative idea.
* It should agree with available observations.
* It should be kept as simple as possible.
* It should be testable and potentially falsifiable.

Question 10

what should a hypothesis have?

Answer 10

5
*It should be a general statement.
* It should be a tentative idea.
* It should agree with available observations.
* It should be kept as simple as possible.
* It should be testable and potentially falsifiable.

Question 11

what are deductions?

Answer 11

biologist draws deductions from hypotheses. Deductions are the logical consequences of hypotheses. For this purpose, a hypothesis is taken as true and expected results (deductions) are drawn from it.
This involves the use of “if-then” logic.

Question 12

what is the most basic step of the biological method?

Answer 12

Experimentation

Question 13

what is experimentation?

Answer 13

The most basic step of biological method is experimentation. Biologist performs experiments to
see if hypotheses are true or not. The deductions, which are drawn from hypotheses, are subjected
to rigorous testing. Through experimentation, biologist learns which hypothesis is correct.
The incorrect hypotheses are rejected and the one which proves correct is accepted. An accepted
the hypothesis makes further predictions that provide an important way to further test its validity.

Question 14

what is a summarization of the results?

Answer 14

Biologists gather actual, quantitative data from experiments. Data for each of the groups are then averaged and compared statistically. To draw conclusions, the biologist also uses statistical analysis.

Question 15

how reporting the results is an important step in a biological method?

Answer 15

Publishing results is an essential part of the scientific method. It allows other people to verify the results or apply the knowledge to solve other problems.

Question 16

what is reporting of results?

Answer 16

Biologists publish their findings in scientific journals and books, in talks at national and international
meetings, and in seminars at colleges and universities. Publishing results is an essential part of the scientific method. It allows other people to verify the results or apply the knowledge to solve other problems.

Question 17

symptoms of malaria?

Answer 17

the patient of malaria feels very chill and cold. His temperature rises above the normal value of 98.6 degrees F. The patient suffers from headaches and has feelings of nausea.

Question 18

nausea?

Answer 18

a feeling of sickness with an inclination to vomit.

Question 19

how was the name ‘malaria’ derived?

Answer 19

It was thought that the stagnant water of marshes poisoned the air and as a result of breathing in this
“bad air”, people got malaria. This belief led to the name of this disease. The Italian words “mala”
means bad and “aria” means air.

Question 20

how did ancient people describe malaria?

Answer 20

They described it as a disease of chills and fevers with recurring attacks.

Question 21

In what areas was the disease more common?

Answer 21

the disease was more common among people living in low, marshy areas.

Question 22

how was it proved that the air of stagnant water is not the cause of malaria?

Answer 22

some volunteers drank stagnant water from the marshes. They did not develop malaria.

Question 23

bark vs trunk

Answer 23

the bark is the first layer of the trunk.

Question 24

how was the treatment of malaria discovered?

Answer 24

In the 15th century when the New World (America) was discovered, many plants from America were
sent back to Europe to be used as medicines. The bark of a tree known as quina-quina was very
suitable for curing fevers. It was so beneficial that soon it was impossible to carry enough bark to
Europe. Some dishonest merchants began to substitute the bark of another tree, the cinchona which closely resembled quina-quina. This dishonesty proved much valuable for mankind. Cinchona bark
was found to be excellent for treating malaria. We now know the reason: cinchona bark contains
quinine that is effective in treating the disease

Question 25

how was the cause of malaria discovered?

Answer 25

Two hundred years later, it was found that some diseases are caused by tiny living organisms. After
this discovery, it also became a belief that malaria, too, might be caused by some microorganism.
In 1878, a French army physician Laveran began to search for the “cause” of malaria. He took a
small amount of blood from a malarial patient and examined it under microscope. He noticed some
tiny living creatures. His discovery was not believed by other scientists. Two years later, another
physician saw the same creatures in the blood of another malarial patient. Three years after the
second discovery, the same creatures were observed for third time. The organism was given a
name Plasmodium.

Question 26

when was the hypothesis made by Laveran?

Answer 26

In 1882, 4 years after Laveran began to search for the “cause” of malaria in 1878.

Question 27

what were the observations about the cause of malaria?

Answer 27

• Malaria and marshy areas have some relation.
• Quinine is an effective drug for treating malaria.
• Drinking the water of marshes does not cause malaria.
• Plasmodium is seen in the blood of malarial patients.

Question 28

what was the experiment for the cause of malaria?

Answer 28

“Blood of 100 malarial patients was examined under the microscope. For the purpose of having a
control group, the blood of 100 healthy persons was also examined under the microscope.”

Question 29

how many observations did AFA king observe? Name?

Answer 29

water. In 1883, a physician A. F. A. King, listed
20 observations. Some important observations of King were:
* People who slept outdoors were more likely to get malaria than those who slept indoors;
* People who slept under fine nets were less likely to get malaria than those who did not use such
nets; and
* Individuals who slept near a smoky fire usually did not get malaria.

Question 30

explain the experiment of Ronald Ross.

Question 31

what is theory

Answer 31

When a hypothesis is given a repeated exposure to experimentation and is not falsified, it increases
biologists’ confidence in hypothesis. Such well-supported hypothesis may be used as the basis for
formulating further hypotheses which are again proved by experimental results. The hypotheses
that stand the test of time (often tested and never rejected), are called theories. A theory is
supported by a great deal of evidence.

Question 32

what is law or principle?

Answer 32

Productive theory keeps on suggesting new hypotheses and so testing goes on. Many biologists take it as a challenge and exert greater efforts to disprove the theory. If a theory survives such
doubtful approach and continues to be supported by experimental evidence, it becomes a law or principle. A scientific law is a uniform or constant fact of nature. It is an irrefutable theory. Examples: Hardy-Weinberg law & Mendel’s laws of inheritance.

Question 33

what is data organization?

Answer 33

In order to formulate and then test hypotheses, scientists collect and organize data. Prior to
conducting an experiment, it is very important for a scientist to describe data collection methods. It
ensures the quality of the experiment. Data is organized in different formats like graphics, tables, flow
charts, maps, and diagrams.

Question 34

what is data analysis?

Answer 34

Data analysis is necessary to prove or disprove a hypothesis by experimentation. It is done through
the application of statistical methods i.e. ratio and proportion.

Question 35

what is a ratio?

Answer 35

When a relation between two
numbers e.g. ‘a’ and ‘b’ is expressed in terms of the quotient (a/b), it is called the ratio of one number
to the other. Ratio may be expressed by putting a division (÷) or colon (:) mark between the two
numbers. For example the ratio between 50 malarial patients and 150 normal persons is 1:3.

Question 36

example of theory?

Answer 36

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution