MTTC Integrated Science Exam
Independent Variable - Answer -The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect
is being studied. Placed on the x-axis (horizontal) on a graph.
Dependent Variable - Answer -The variable that is measured in an experiment. Placed on the y-axis
(vertical) on a graph.
Scientific theory - Answer -Must be repeatable. Possible to be disproved and capable of change.
Sampling and Sample Size - Answer -Random sampling is the preferred, but isn't always possible. A large
sample will yield the most accurate information.
Manipulating Variables - Answer -Only one variable should be manipulated at a time.
Control variable - Answer -A factor that is held constant to test the relative impact of an independent
variable
Response to Lab Accident - Answer -In most cases, 911 should be called immediately.
Response to Fire in a Beaker or Flask - Answer -Do not use a fire extinguisher. Just place a watch glass or
wet towel over it to cut off Oxygen supply.
,Guidelines for Dissections - Answer -Specimens should be rinsed before using. Latex glover preferred.
Avoid use of formaldehyde/dispose of correctly. Need to provide alternative for students with moral
objections to assingment.
Storing Lab Chemicals - Answer -Store all in secured, dry area. Acids locked in separate area.
Origin of Biological Sciences - Answer -Traced back to ancient Greeks (i.e. Aristotle)
Andrea Vesalius - Answer -Dissected human bodies; created a book on anatomy
Anton van Leeuwenhoek - Answer -Father of Microscopy, first to see and describe bacteria, yeast plants,
and microscopic life found in water
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) - Answer -Instead of a light, a beam of electrons pass through
specimen. Resolution about 1,000 times greater than light microscope. Will kill specimen though.
Robert Hooke - Answer -Famous for Hook's law describing elasticity. But called a "virtuoso", able to
contribute findings to any major field in science
Carl Von Linnaeus - Answer -Famous for binomial system of nomenclature. Each living organism has two
names, a genus and species. Considered father of modern ecology and taxonomy
Pasteur - Answer -Discovered role of microorganisms in the cause of disease, pasteurization, and rabies
vaccine.
Koch's Postulates - Answer -Specific diseases caused by specific pathogens
Cell theory - Answer -Cell is the common structural unit in plants and animals. Proposed by Mattias
Scheleiden and Schwann.
Watson and Crick - Answer -Discovered the structure of DNA was a double helix (in the 1950s). Made it
possible to understand how DNA replicated and synthesized proteins
,Commonalities Among all Sciences - Answer -- Systems, order, and organization
- Evidence, models, and explanation
- Constancy, change, and measurement
- Evolution and equilibrium
- Form and function
Empirical Evidence - Answer -All evidence is empirical; all evidence must be observed by the five sense.
Peer-reviewed Journals - Answer -Most accepted source for information on scientific experiments and
studies
Air Pollution - Answer -Chemicals in the air; include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's)
Water Pollution - Answer -Contaminants enter water by ground runoff or by leaching
Thermal pollution - Answer -Factories dump water at high temperatures which increases normal water
temperatures. This means the water can hold less gas, disrupting the ecosystem
Greenhouse gasses - Answer -I.e. carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Concentration of them is increased
by burning fossil fuels. These gasses absorb and trap heat, therefore warming the planet
Acid ran - Answer -Sulfur and nitrous oxides converted to acids and contaminate water supplies
Prokaryotes - Answer -Single-celled organisms that do not have a membrane-bound nucleus
Flagella - Answer -Appendages on bacteria cells; used for movement
Pili - Answer -Used by bacteria cells to attach to other cells
, Cell Wall - Answer -a thin membrane around the cytoplasm of a cell
Cell membrane - Answer -a phospholipid layer that covers a cell's surface and acts as a barrier between
the inside of a cell and the cell's environment
Eukaryotes - Answer -organisms whose cells contain a nucleus and other membrane bound organelles
Nucleus - Answer -a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and
reproduction
Nucleolus - Answer -The organelle where ribosomes are made, synthesized and partially assembled,
located in the nucleus
Ribosomes - Answer -site of protein synthesis
Endoplasmic Reticulum - Answer -an internal membrane system in which components of cell membrane
and some proteins are constructed
Golgi apparatus - Answer -stack of membranes in the cell that modifies, sorts, and packages proteins
from the endoplasmic reticulum
Lysosomes - Answer -An organelle containing digestive enzymes; found mostly in animal cells
Mitochondria - Answer -Powerhouse of the cell, organelle that is the site of ATP (energy) production
Plastids - Answer -Include chloroplasts, chromoplasts, and amyloplasts (leucoplasts); only found in
photosynthetic organisms
Vacuoles - Answer -saclike structures that store materials such as water, salts, proteins, and
carbohydrates
Independent Variable - Answer -The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect
is being studied. Placed on the x-axis (horizontal) on a graph.
Dependent Variable - Answer -The variable that is measured in an experiment. Placed on the y-axis
(vertical) on a graph.
Scientific theory - Answer -Must be repeatable. Possible to be disproved and capable of change.
Sampling and Sample Size - Answer -Random sampling is the preferred, but isn't always possible. A large
sample will yield the most accurate information.
Manipulating Variables - Answer -Only one variable should be manipulated at a time.
Control variable - Answer -A factor that is held constant to test the relative impact of an independent
variable
Response to Lab Accident - Answer -In most cases, 911 should be called immediately.
Response to Fire in a Beaker or Flask - Answer -Do not use a fire extinguisher. Just place a watch glass or
wet towel over it to cut off Oxygen supply.
,Guidelines for Dissections - Answer -Specimens should be rinsed before using. Latex glover preferred.
Avoid use of formaldehyde/dispose of correctly. Need to provide alternative for students with moral
objections to assingment.
Storing Lab Chemicals - Answer -Store all in secured, dry area. Acids locked in separate area.
Origin of Biological Sciences - Answer -Traced back to ancient Greeks (i.e. Aristotle)
Andrea Vesalius - Answer -Dissected human bodies; created a book on anatomy
Anton van Leeuwenhoek - Answer -Father of Microscopy, first to see and describe bacteria, yeast plants,
and microscopic life found in water
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) - Answer -Instead of a light, a beam of electrons pass through
specimen. Resolution about 1,000 times greater than light microscope. Will kill specimen though.
Robert Hooke - Answer -Famous for Hook's law describing elasticity. But called a "virtuoso", able to
contribute findings to any major field in science
Carl Von Linnaeus - Answer -Famous for binomial system of nomenclature. Each living organism has two
names, a genus and species. Considered father of modern ecology and taxonomy
Pasteur - Answer -Discovered role of microorganisms in the cause of disease, pasteurization, and rabies
vaccine.
Koch's Postulates - Answer -Specific diseases caused by specific pathogens
Cell theory - Answer -Cell is the common structural unit in plants and animals. Proposed by Mattias
Scheleiden and Schwann.
Watson and Crick - Answer -Discovered the structure of DNA was a double helix (in the 1950s). Made it
possible to understand how DNA replicated and synthesized proteins
,Commonalities Among all Sciences - Answer -- Systems, order, and organization
- Evidence, models, and explanation
- Constancy, change, and measurement
- Evolution and equilibrium
- Form and function
Empirical Evidence - Answer -All evidence is empirical; all evidence must be observed by the five sense.
Peer-reviewed Journals - Answer -Most accepted source for information on scientific experiments and
studies
Air Pollution - Answer -Chemicals in the air; include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's)
Water Pollution - Answer -Contaminants enter water by ground runoff or by leaching
Thermal pollution - Answer -Factories dump water at high temperatures which increases normal water
temperatures. This means the water can hold less gas, disrupting the ecosystem
Greenhouse gasses - Answer -I.e. carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Concentration of them is increased
by burning fossil fuels. These gasses absorb and trap heat, therefore warming the planet
Acid ran - Answer -Sulfur and nitrous oxides converted to acids and contaminate water supplies
Prokaryotes - Answer -Single-celled organisms that do not have a membrane-bound nucleus
Flagella - Answer -Appendages on bacteria cells; used for movement
Pili - Answer -Used by bacteria cells to attach to other cells
, Cell Wall - Answer -a thin membrane around the cytoplasm of a cell
Cell membrane - Answer -a phospholipid layer that covers a cell's surface and acts as a barrier between
the inside of a cell and the cell's environment
Eukaryotes - Answer -organisms whose cells contain a nucleus and other membrane bound organelles
Nucleus - Answer -a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and
reproduction
Nucleolus - Answer -The organelle where ribosomes are made, synthesized and partially assembled,
located in the nucleus
Ribosomes - Answer -site of protein synthesis
Endoplasmic Reticulum - Answer -an internal membrane system in which components of cell membrane
and some proteins are constructed
Golgi apparatus - Answer -stack of membranes in the cell that modifies, sorts, and packages proteins
from the endoplasmic reticulum
Lysosomes - Answer -An organelle containing digestive enzymes; found mostly in animal cells
Mitochondria - Answer -Powerhouse of the cell, organelle that is the site of ATP (energy) production
Plastids - Answer -Include chloroplasts, chromoplasts, and amyloplasts (leucoplasts); only found in
photosynthetic organisms
Vacuoles - Answer -saclike structures that store materials such as water, salts, proteins, and
carbohydrates
