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Miller & Levine Biology Chapter 1.1 - What Is Science?

Miller & Levine Biology Chapter 1.1 - What Is Science?


  • Science and our knowledge/understanding of why different things occur the way they do is a constantly shifting field, not a collection of unchanging facts or beliefs

  • All scientific ideas should be tested, revised, and discussed over time

  • Science is an organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the world 

    • Considered a “process” instead of a “thing”

    • Refers to a “database” of knowledge that other studies have collected over time 

  • Key features include only dealing with the natural world, collecting evidence and data in organized and specific, orderly ways, and explaining based on evidence opposed to belief 


  • The universe is a system composed of parts and processes that interact with one another

    • All things in the universe are governed by universal laws

    • The same natural laws apply no matter the object

    • One important goal of science is to provide explanations for events that occur in the natural world, and use those explanations to understand patterns and make predictions


  • Scientific knowledge helps cure disease, place satellites, send instantaneous electronic communications, etc., but there’s still a lot that remains an unknown 

    • Because science is constantly changing, every new major discovery often brings more questions than answers which points studies in new and unexpected directions

    • Shows that science continues to advance over time 

    • Understanding what we don’t know is just as important as understanding what we do

  • Science rarely “proves” anything in absolute terms but instead aims for the best understanding that current methods can reveal 


  • Like trying to figure out why your car won’t start, there isn’t a single, cut-and-dried “scientific method”, but instead a style of investigation called scientific methodology

  • This methodology involves observing and asking questions, making inferences and forming hypotheses, conducting controlled experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and making conclusions based on collected evidence 

    • Observing and asking questions = noticing and describing events in an organized way, thinking about an ordinary thing in a way that hasn’t been thought of before (which then leads to questions that haven’t been asked before) 

    • Inferring and forming a hypothesis = logical interpretation based on what scientists already know, combined with the use of creative imagination to test theory 

    • Designing controlled experiments = creating an experiment that keeps track of different factors that can change (variables like temperature, light, time, availability of nutrients) 

    • Collecting and analyzing data = detailed records of experimental observations that can either be quantitative (numbers, counting, measuring) or qualitative (characteristics, notes, observations that can’t be counted) 

    • Drawing conclusions = by using experimental data as evidence to support, refute, or revise the tested hypothesis, a valid conclusion is able to be made 


  • Although, when experiments aren’t possible (like in animal behavior research), hypotheses can be tested through observation, investigation, and analyzation of collected data 

    • Ethics can also prevent certain types of experiments (especially on people) 

    • For research, studying larger groups of subjects is important so that individual genetic differences don’t produce untrue or misleading results


Important Vocabulary:

  • Science“Organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the natural world”

  • Observation: “Process of noticing and describing events or processes in a careful, orderly way”

  • Inference: “A logical interpretation based on prior knowledge and experience”

  • Controlled experiment: “Experiment in which only one variable is changed”

  • Independent variable: “Factor in a controlled experiment that is deliberately changed’ also called manipulated variable”

  • Dependent variable: “Variable that is observed and that changes in response to the independent variable; also called the responding variable”

  • Control group: “Group in an experiment that is exposed to the same conditions as the experimental group except for one independent variable”

  • Data: “Evidence; information gathered from observations”                                                                                                 

  • Hypothesis: “Possible explanation for a set of observations or possible to answer to a scientific question”






Miller & Levine Biology Chapter 1.1 - What Is Science?


  • Science and our knowledge/understanding of why different things occur the way they do is a constantly shifting field, not a collection of unchanging facts or beliefs

  • All scientific ideas should be tested, revised, and discussed over time

  • Science is an organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the world 

    • Considered a “process” instead of a “thing”

    • Refers to a “database” of knowledge that other studies have collected over time 

  • Key features include only dealing with the natural world, collecting evidence and data in organized and specific, orderly ways, and explaining based on evidence opposed to belief 


  • The universe is a system composed of parts and processes that interact with one another

    • All things in the universe are governed by universal laws

    • The same natural laws apply no matter the object

    • One important goal of science is to provide explanations for events that occur in the natural world, and use those explanations to understand patterns and make predictions


  • Scientific knowledge helps cure disease, place satellites, send instantaneous electronic communications, etc., but there’s still a lot that remains an unknown 

    • Because science is constantly changing, every new major discovery often brings more questions than answers which points studies in new and unexpected directions

    • Shows that science continues to advance over time 

    • Understanding what we don’t know is just as important as understanding what we do

  • Science rarely “proves” anything in absolute terms but instead aims for the best understanding that current methods can reveal 


  • Like trying to figure out why your car won’t start, there isn’t a single, cut-and-dried “scientific method”, but instead a style of investigation called scientific methodology

  • This methodology involves observing and asking questions, making inferences and forming hypotheses, conducting controlled experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and making conclusions based on collected evidence 

    • Observing and asking questions = noticing and describing events in an organized way, thinking about an ordinary thing in a way that hasn’t been thought of before (which then leads to questions that haven’t been asked before) 

    • Inferring and forming a hypothesis = logical interpretation based on what scientists already know, combined with the use of creative imagination to test theory 

    • Designing controlled experiments = creating an experiment that keeps track of different factors that can change (variables like temperature, light, time, availability of nutrients) 

    • Collecting and analyzing data = detailed records of experimental observations that can either be quantitative (numbers, counting, measuring) or qualitative (characteristics, notes, observations that can’t be counted) 

    • Drawing conclusions = by using experimental data as evidence to support, refute, or revise the tested hypothesis, a valid conclusion is able to be made 


  • Although, when experiments aren’t possible (like in animal behavior research), hypotheses can be tested through observation, investigation, and analyzation of collected data 

    • Ethics can also prevent certain types of experiments (especially on people) 

    • For research, studying larger groups of subjects is important so that individual genetic differences don’t produce untrue or misleading results


Important Vocabulary:

  • Science“Organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the natural world”

  • Observation: “Process of noticing and describing events or processes in a careful, orderly way”

  • Inference: “A logical interpretation based on prior knowledge and experience”

  • Controlled experiment: “Experiment in which only one variable is changed”

  • Independent variable: “Factor in a controlled experiment that is deliberately changed’ also called manipulated variable”

  • Dependent variable: “Variable that is observed and that changes in response to the independent variable; also called the responding variable”

  • Control group: “Group in an experiment that is exposed to the same conditions as the experimental group except for one independent variable”

  • Data: “Evidence; information gathered from observations”                                                                                                 

  • Hypothesis: “Possible explanation for a set of observations or possible to answer to a scientific question”