Human Biology Chapter 1 Quiz

Chapter 1: Human Biology, Science, and Society

• Human biology is the study of the human body, how it works, improving health, relationships with Earth, ecology, evolution, and human impacts on Earth.
• Biology is the study of the natural world and living organisms and life's processes. The word "bio" comes from the Greek word meaning "life," and "logos," meaning "word/thoughts" (or study of).
• Living things are made of at least one cell, composed of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.

Characteristics of Life

• Living things exhibit several characteristics, although these can vary.

Diversity vs. Unit of Life

• A Prokaryote is a cell that does not have a nucleus, and no membrane bound organelles. Bacteria fall into the prokaryote category. DNA floats freely in a prokaryotic cell.
• A Eukaryote is a cell with a nucleus and other organelles enclosed by membranes. Organisms such as plants and animals are eukaryotes.

Classification of Life

• Organisms are categorized into three domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
• Within Eukarya, organisms are further classified into kingdoms: Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia.
• The smallest unit of classification is species, followed by genus. Humans belong to the genus Homo and the species sapiens.

Levels of Biological Organization

• Biology can be studied at various levels, ranging from atoms to molecules to cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biosphere.

The Scientific Method

• Science is both a body of knowledge and a process.
• The scientific method is a procedure used to test ideas. Steps include observation, hypothesis, prediction, experiment and results, conclusion.
• A hypothesis is a tentative statement or testable prediction. It can be supported or refuted, but not definitively proven true.
• Predictions are based on the hypothesis and often take the form of an "if...then" statement.
• Controlled experiments involve manipulating one variable while keeping others constant. The independent variable is the one that is manipulated and the dependent variable is the response to the independent variable.
• Scientific findings are disseminated through peer-reviewed journals.
• Well-tested hypotheses form theories. Theories may be refuted in the future.

Critical Thinking in Science

• Critical thinking is vital in evaluating scientific information. It involves skepticism, understanding graphs and statistics, recognizing anecdotes from scientific evidence, separating facts from conclusions, and distinguishing correlation from causation.

Role of Science in Society

• Science improves technology and human conditions (e.g., better crops, cures for diseases, weather predictions).
• Science has limitations. Scientific knowledge only provides physical explanations of the natural world, and cannot provide moral or belief answers.