Question 1

A recent commercial advertised for a wristband that claimed to restore health and balance by taking advantage of natural frequencies of your biofield.It even showed several people struggling to balance first without the wristband and then balancing fine with the wristband.For only $20 plus shipping and handling this device can be yours.Why should you be skeptical of the claims made in this ad?

Accepted Answer

The claim that the wristband can restore health and balance is a scientific claim that should be backed by controlled experiments. Without a controlled experiment, it is impossible to determine if the wristband is truly effective. Therefore, the lack of a controlled experiment should make you skeptical of the claims presented in the ad.

Question 2

If you were to evaluate these claims using the scientific method,what would be the first step?

Accepted Answer

The first step in the scientific method is to develop a hypothesis, which is a testable explanation for a phenomenon or set of observations. This allows for a structured approach to conducting experiments and gathering evidence to support or refute the hypothesis. Gathering testimonials or evaluating results would come later in the process, after the hypothesis has been developed and tested.

Question 3

Which of the following would be the strongest evidence for or against the necklace's effectiveness?

Accepted Answer

A bar graph comparing batting averages of players who wear the official titanium necklace to those wearing a fake one is the best choice because it directly compares the performance of players wearing the different types of necklaces, which can provide strong evidence for or against the effectiveness of the official necklace. A pie chart, scatter plot, or histogram would not provide as strong evidence related to the effectiveness of the necklace.

Question 4

What is typically the first step in the scientific method?

Accepted Answer

The first step in the scientific method is typically observation. This involves using our senses or instruments to gather data about a phenomenon or problem. Through careful observation, scientists can identify patterns or relationships that they can then explore further through experimentation, hypothesis testing, and prediction.

Question 5

A population consists of ________.

Accepted Answer

A population is defined as a group of interacting individuals of one species within a particular geographic area. It does not include nonliving components or multiple interacting populations.

Question 6

A college campus-including the students,birds,trees,sidewalks,and air-makes up one complete ________.

Accepted Answer

An ecosystem includes all living organisms (students, birds, trees) and non-living components (sidewalks, air) in a specific area. The college campus meets the criteria to be considered an ecosystem.

Question 7

Is a virus alive?

Accepted Answer

Viruses do not possess all of the requirements for life such as the ability to reproduce on their own and the ability to perform metabolic processes without a host cell. While they do possess genetic material and can evolve, they are not considered fully alive.

Question 8

If you were to combine all of the ecosystems on the planet,including the planet itself,you would have the ________.

Accepted Answer

The biosphere refers to the sum of all ecosystems on Earth, including living organisms (both plants and animals) and nonliving components, such as water, air, and soil. This includes terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems, as well as the atmosphere and lithosphere. The ionosphere and troposphere are specific layers of Earth's atmosphere, while the term envirosphere is not commonly used in ecology or Earth science.

Question 9

How is life defined?

Accepted Answer

Life is defined by a set of shared characteristics, such as the ability to grow and develop, the ability to respond to stimuli, the ability to maintain homeostasis, and the ability to reproduce. These characteristics are shared by all living things.

Question 10

Which of the following is the correct organizational hierarchy,from largest to smallest,in the hierarchical order of life? (Some levels have been omitted,so you are looking for the correct order.)

Accepted Answer

The correct order of the organizational hierarchy, from largest to smallest, is: Biosphere → Ecosystem → Community → Population → Organism → Organ System → Organ → Tissue → Cell → Organelle → Molecule → Atom. Option B is the closest to this order, with the correct sequence of Ecosystem → Community → Population → Organ → Tissue → Cell, followed by Molecule → Atom, which is a more detailed level of organization. Options A, C, and D have incorrect sequences and/or missing levels.

Question 11

Which of the following would probably not be studied by an ecologist?

Accepted Answer

Ecologists study the relationships between organisms and their environment, so they would be more likely to study how fish interact with their ecosystem rather than focusing on the specific details of their circulatory system.

Question 12

The symbol for gold from the periodic table of the elements is Au.Pure gold consists entirely of this element.How long could you repeatedly cut a kilogram of pure gold in half until the portion remaining,if split,would then no longer display the chemical properties of gold?

Accepted Answer

Chemical properties are determined by the arrangement of atoms in a substance. Gold is an element, which means it consists of only one type of atom. Therefore, you could repeatedly cut a kilogram of pure gold in half until you had only a single atom of gold remaining, at which point the portion remaining would no longer display the chemical properties of gold.

Question 13

Skin is sometimes referred to as the largest organ of the body.Why is skin considered to be an organ and not a tissue or some other structure?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Skin is sometimes referred to as the...

Question 14

Which property or properties of life does a virus possess?

Accepted Answer

A virus has order, since it is a complex, organized structure composed of genetic material and protein that allows it to carry out its functions. However, viruses do not have cells and cannot reproduce on their own, so options B and C are not correct.

Question 15

"There are 628 squirrels living on campus." I have just described the ________.

Accepted Answer

A population refers to a group of organisms of the same species living in the same geographic area and interbreeding. In this case, the group of squirrels living on campus is a population.

Question 16

Certain parasites,such as intestinal tapeworms,cannot survive outside of the host.Why are they still considered alive?

Accepted Answer

Survival outside of a host is not a requirement for life. Therefore, parasites such as intestinal tapeworms can still be considered alive, even though they cannot survive outside of a host.

Question 17

The scientific method ________.

Accepted Answer

The scientific method is a general guideline for approaching questions and problems in a scientific way. While there are basic steps involved, such as making observations, forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and analyzing results, the order in which these steps occur and the level of detail can vary depending on the study. Additionally, the scientific method can be used by anyone, not just trained scientists, and is not a guarantee of absolute truth, but rather a process of continually refining our understanding of the natural world.

Question 18

What should one do if the results of the experiment consistently do not support the original hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

If the results consistently do not support the original hypothesis, then the hypothesis must be rejected. This means that the hypothesis was not proven through the experiment and a new hypothesis should be formulated to test. Simply changing the hypothesis to match the results or changing the results to match the hypothesis are not valid or ethical options. Accepting the original hypothesis would also be incorrect since it was proven to be unsupported by the experiment.

Question 19

Beginning with an atom and working up to the entire planet,biologists view life as arranged from ________.

Accepted Answer

Biologists typically view life as arranged from small and simple (such as atoms and molecules) to large and complex (such as entire ecosystems and planetary systems). This progression represents the concept of emergent properties, where new and more complex properties arise as components are combined in novel ways.

Question 20

Fire can move,grow,reproduce,use energy,consume oxygen,and interact with its environment.Why is it not alive?

Accepted Answer

All of the above factors are characteristic of living organisms, and fire does not possess any of them, making it non-living.

Quiz 1: An Introduction to the Science of Life