BIO 110 MODULE 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | COMPLETE INTRODUCTORY
BIOLOGY MODULE 1 STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
scientific method (hypothesis-based science) - ✔✔-series of steps that, if followed, may help a scientist
understand an observation
-hypothesis driven
-usually tested with a controlled experiment
-results should be repeatable
cell theory - ✔✔1) all living things/life as we know it are made up of cells
2) cells have the ability to reproduce
3)all cells come from preexisting cells (except the first cell)
4) all life as we know it uses DNA as genetic material
theory - ✔✔larger scope than hypothesis; widely accepted with a plethora of supporting evidence that
has stood the test of time
hypothesis - ✔✔proposed, testable explanation for an observation
controlled experiment - ✔✔-a test run several times with one variable changing and, ideally, all other
variables staying constant (controlled)
-both a control and a variable, the control used as a baseline measure and the variable as what is
altered, measured, or manipulated in an experiment
discovery science - ✔✔-the second type of science that provides data used to describe the natural
world
-field studies
-results that have been found from actually having carried out the experiment or investigation
level 1 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student is given a specific question
-find info in textbook, notes, or web sources
-purpose: provide foundational terms and facts needed to negotiate the discipline of biology
level 2 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student is given a procedure, simulation, or scenario
-draw conclusions from data & observations collected
-purpose: foster confidence in understanding & analyzing quantitative & qualitative empirical data
level 3 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student is given a probing question
-use evidence from various resources to synthesize an answer
-purpose: apply foundational info into integrated scenarios
level 4 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student encounters a phenomenon or poses a question
that is currently theoretical
-design own experiment
-purpose: propose plausible explanation for a phenomenon
, concept - ✔✔-abstract idea
-a mental construct that represents some aspect of the world in a simplified form
HMS Beagle - ✔✔the ship that Darwin embarked on a round-the-world surveying voyage
Galapagos - ✔✔group of islands off the coast of South America where Darwin was struck by the
abundant biodiversity
biogeography - ✔✔-study of the geographic distribution of species
-provides much evidence for the evolution of life on earth
comparative anatomy - ✔✔-comparisons of the body structures of modern organisms
-provides insight into evolutionary history
bioinformatics - ✔✔-approach in which computational tools are used to make biological comparisons
through examining DNA and protein sequences
Lamarck - ✔✔French naturalist struck by the similarities of many of the animals he studied and was
impressed too by the burgeoning fossil record. It led him to argue that life was not fixed. When
environments changed, organisms had to change their behavior to survive. If they began to use an organ
more than they had in the past, it would increase in its lifetime. If a giraffe stretched its neck for leaves,
for example, make it longer. Its offspring would inherit the longer neck, and continued stretching would
make it longer still over several generations. Meanwhile, organs that organisms stopped using would
shrink.
Darwin - ✔✔It was this famous naturalist's genius both to show how all his evidence favored the
evolution of species from a common ancestor and to offer a plausible mechanism by which life might
evolve- Natural Selection
independent variable - ✔✔-in an experiment, this is the variable that is varied or manipulated by the
researcher
-the presumed cause
-can only be one of this type of variable per experiment
dependent variable - ✔✔-in an experiment, this is the variable whose response is measured
-the presumed effect
-there can be more than one
evolution - ✔✔-change in heritable traits of biological populations over successive generations.
-these processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including the level of
species, individual organisms, and at the level of molecular evolution.
abiogenesis - ✔✔-formation of life from nonlife
-presumably how the first cell was created
-spontaneous generation
prokaryotes - ✔✔-small, simple cells that contain DNA
ex) bacteria, archaea
BIOLOGY MODULE 1 STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
scientific method (hypothesis-based science) - ✔✔-series of steps that, if followed, may help a scientist
understand an observation
-hypothesis driven
-usually tested with a controlled experiment
-results should be repeatable
cell theory - ✔✔1) all living things/life as we know it are made up of cells
2) cells have the ability to reproduce
3)all cells come from preexisting cells (except the first cell)
4) all life as we know it uses DNA as genetic material
theory - ✔✔larger scope than hypothesis; widely accepted with a plethora of supporting evidence that
has stood the test of time
hypothesis - ✔✔proposed, testable explanation for an observation
controlled experiment - ✔✔-a test run several times with one variable changing and, ideally, all other
variables staying constant (controlled)
-both a control and a variable, the control used as a baseline measure and the variable as what is
altered, measured, or manipulated in an experiment
discovery science - ✔✔-the second type of science that provides data used to describe the natural
world
-field studies
-results that have been found from actually having carried out the experiment or investigation
level 1 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student is given a specific question
-find info in textbook, notes, or web sources
-purpose: provide foundational terms and facts needed to negotiate the discipline of biology
level 2 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student is given a procedure, simulation, or scenario
-draw conclusions from data & observations collected
-purpose: foster confidence in understanding & analyzing quantitative & qualitative empirical data
level 3 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student is given a probing question
-use evidence from various resources to synthesize an answer
-purpose: apply foundational info into integrated scenarios
level 4 - ✔✔-level of scientific inquiry where a student encounters a phenomenon or poses a question
that is currently theoretical
-design own experiment
-purpose: propose plausible explanation for a phenomenon
, concept - ✔✔-abstract idea
-a mental construct that represents some aspect of the world in a simplified form
HMS Beagle - ✔✔the ship that Darwin embarked on a round-the-world surveying voyage
Galapagos - ✔✔group of islands off the coast of South America where Darwin was struck by the
abundant biodiversity
biogeography - ✔✔-study of the geographic distribution of species
-provides much evidence for the evolution of life on earth
comparative anatomy - ✔✔-comparisons of the body structures of modern organisms
-provides insight into evolutionary history
bioinformatics - ✔✔-approach in which computational tools are used to make biological comparisons
through examining DNA and protein sequences
Lamarck - ✔✔French naturalist struck by the similarities of many of the animals he studied and was
impressed too by the burgeoning fossil record. It led him to argue that life was not fixed. When
environments changed, organisms had to change their behavior to survive. If they began to use an organ
more than they had in the past, it would increase in its lifetime. If a giraffe stretched its neck for leaves,
for example, make it longer. Its offspring would inherit the longer neck, and continued stretching would
make it longer still over several generations. Meanwhile, organs that organisms stopped using would
shrink.
Darwin - ✔✔It was this famous naturalist's genius both to show how all his evidence favored the
evolution of species from a common ancestor and to offer a plausible mechanism by which life might
evolve- Natural Selection
independent variable - ✔✔-in an experiment, this is the variable that is varied or manipulated by the
researcher
-the presumed cause
-can only be one of this type of variable per experiment
dependent variable - ✔✔-in an experiment, this is the variable whose response is measured
-the presumed effect
-there can be more than one
evolution - ✔✔-change in heritable traits of biological populations over successive generations.
-these processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including the level of
species, individual organisms, and at the level of molecular evolution.
abiogenesis - ✔✔-formation of life from nonlife
-presumably how the first cell was created
-spontaneous generation
prokaryotes - ✔✔-small, simple cells that contain DNA
ex) bacteria, archaea
