Life on This Rock: Section 1

Question 1

What is biology?

Answer 1

The scientific study of life.

Question 2

What does everything in science begin with?

Answer 2

An observation.

Question 3

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 3

A potential answer to a question that usually draws on available knowledge.

Question 4

What is a scientific theory?

Answer 4

An idea, phenomenon, or data that many observations and experiments support.

Question 5

How are god experiments designed?

Answer 5

They are designed to change only one thing at a time, allowing us to observe the impact of that single change.

Question 6

What is a conclusion?

Answer 6

The end result of an experiment which either supports the hypothesis or refutes it.

Question 7

True or false? The results of an experiment usually lead to new experiments and hypotheses.

Answer 7

True.

Question 8

What should a good scientist do after he concludes an experiment?

Answer 8

Try to replicate the results.

Question 9

Why is repeating experiments necessary?

Answer 9

It is a safeguard that prevents reporting incorrect data.

Question 10

What are the four parts of an experiment?

Answer 10

Observation, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion.

Question 11

Why did people in the 1800s believe that life could arise from non-living matter?

Answer 11

They saw mold and maggots appear in food or animals that were decaying.

Question 12

Who proved the theory that organisms could arise from decaying matter wrong?

Answer 12

Louis Pasteur

Question 13

What was Louis Pasteur’s experiment that allowed for the discovery that germs and outside sources caused life to appear on decaying matter?

Answer 13

He filed two flasks with broth, but one flask had a special s-bend that allowed no air in. Over time, the unprotected flask grew white mold, while the s-bend one did not. He then snapped the s-bend off and the protected flask grew mold.

Question 14

What is the name of the specialized process that Louis Pasteur invented to kill pathogens and bacteria within milk and other beverages?

Answer 14

Pasteurization.

Question 15

Besides pasteurization, what else did the realization that germs existed in the air lead to?

Answer 15

The introduction of sterile conditions for surgery.

Question 16

What is a null hypothesis?

Answer 16

A hypothesis that asserts that the experiment will not work.

Question 17

What does a null hypothesis do?

Answer 17

It helps to prevent scientists from jumping to conclusions.

Question 18

What is the placebo effect?

Answer 18

When people think something is helping them simply because they are told it is.

Question 19

What is anecdotal evidence?

Answer 19

When a single observation is reported as being significant.

Question 20

What are the two main institutions that grant money for scientific experiments?

Answer 20

National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation

Question 21

What percent of modern applications for scientific funding are accepted?

Answer 21

10%

Question 22

All current medicine is the result of research carried out how many years ago?

Answer 22

10 - 20 years

Question 23

Besides funding, what other hardship do biotechnology companies face?

Answer 23

The fact that they are private businesses driven by profit.

Question 24

Where do scientists report their work to?

Answer 24

Scientific journals.

Question 25

What happens before a scientific paper is published within the journal?

Answer 25

It is reviewed by two or more experts.

Question 26

Even if a scientific paper is published, what has to happen before it is accepted by the scientific community?

Answer 26

It has to be replicated by a different scientist or team of scientists.

Question 27

What are stem cells?

Answer 27

Basic populations of cells that can develop into multiple kinds of tissue.

Question 28

Why is not optimal to obtain stem cells from healthy adults?

Answer 28

The cells can only form one or two tissues and they are difficult to coax into action.

Question 29

Why is obtaining stem cells from an embryo the optimal solution?

Answer 29

they can become any tissue and do so with ease.

Question 30

True or false? Science is an attack on faith.

Answer 30

False. It is a means to describe how the physical world works.

Question 31

What does the theory of evolution state?

Answer 31

That all life is related and came from a common ancestor.

Question 32

When did Darwin first propose the theory of evolution?

Answer 32

1859

Question 33

True or false? There is science that refutes the theory of evolution,

Answer 33

False.

Question 34

Why is it still called the theory of evolution if it is supported by so much evidence?

Answer 34

Because we are still learning about it. Also, science tends to avoid using the word “fact” for even the most well-substantiated theories.

Question 35

True or false? Science cannot disprove spiritual matters.

Answer 35

True.

Question 36

What is a common way of juxtaposing faith and science?

Answer 36

Science is a way of learning about God’s world.

Question 37

In the end, what differentiates science and faith?

Answer 37

Science is about how we live, while faith is about why we live.

Question 38

Why does the Big Bang Theory not disprove the existence of God?

Answer 38

It does not address what existed prior to the Big Bang.