Biology 2290F/G Study Guide - Final Guide: Scientific Method, John Tukey, Scientific Literature

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burgundyworm88

9 Jun 2016

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Explain and outline the steps in the scientific method. The scientific method is a logical, orderly arranged approach use ot study nature, and process used to gain new knowledge. There are 3 fundamental aspects to the scientific method : observation, experimentation, communication. This is the first step of the scientific method. The observation about things in nature enables scientists to formulate questions about what was observed, An experiment is a planned investigation designed to obtain new scientific information: every experiment requires a clear objective. The objective is a statement of intent: ho and ha must be made prior to the design and implementation of an experiment. Hypothesis are simple statements designed to provide possible answers to questions posed by the scientist: predictions are specific directional statements predicting the outcome of the experiment. Prediction have to follow logically from the hypothesis: designing the experiment based on 3 principles.

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Scientific Method Exercise
Identify a situation in which you applied the scientific approach to solving a problem. Share your thinking! The problem you choose to write about can be very simple, such as: my flashlight won't work, or my car won't start, or I baked muffins and they were flat ( didn't rise properly) , or the toilet won't flush properly, or better yet, think of your own. These probably don't sound like "science" problems, but it is most likely that you would use the scientific method to solve them, without even realizing it. Avoid using people problems and child or pet behavior issues as your "problem." Follow these steps to create your first writing assignment:

1. Describe the situation and your observation,
2. Describe your hypothesis to explain the observation.
3. Describe your further observations or experiments to test the hypothesis. Be sure your hypothesis is one that can be tested. Consider what you might use for "controls".
4. Was the hypothesis correct? If not, can you find a better one? Or do you need a better experiment? If so, what would it be?

The assignment should be formatted as follows: Be sure to include the labels, so it is clear that you recognize and identify each step in the process.
Problem: (briefly describe your problem here)
Question: (This may be a "how" or "why" question that you will formulate a tentative answer to. Your tentative answer is your hypothesis.)
Hypothesis: (State the answer to your question above. This is your "best guess" regarding the answer to the question.)
Prediction: (This describes your experiment very briefly and states the outcome you expect that would support your hypothesis)
Experiment: (Describe how you tested your hypothesis)
Results: (Describe what happened, and whether the results supported or failed to support your hypothesis)

The Scientific Method

For any controlled scientific study, a scientist starts with an observation, does some research to develop a hypothesis, and then designs an experiment that compares some baseline group with a test group. Data are then collected to confirm or refute the hypothesis.

As you review the following study, consider whether the researchers correctly followed the scientific method.

In the late 1990s, gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, along with a research team, set out to determine if bowel disease caused by vaccines led to autism.

He compiled a group of 12 children who had loss of acquired skills, developmental delays in language, diarrhea, and abdominal pain-essentially, those with both bowel disease and autism. He questioned each parent about the behavior and personality of the child before the child was vaccinated with the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. He then ran tests on the children to determine the health of the gastrointestinal tract, brain, and nervous system.

His reported data (tabulated below) included that children experienced either gastrointestinal or autism-like symptoms, sometimes within a short period after being vaccinated. From these data, the researchers concluded that there was no link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Wakefield though, contradicted this conclusion and stated that the vaccine caused changes in the gastrointestinal tract of the children, which then led to autism (Wakefield, et al., 1998). Currently, he still contends that the MMR vaccine contributes to autism (Ziv, 2015).

Many researchers tried to duplicate this study and could not replicate Wakefield's results. In fact, they found no link between the vaccines, bowel disease, and autism. In the United Kingdom, the MMR vaccine was not introduced until 1988. If Wakefield's conclusions were correct, one would then expect a jump in autism cases after 1988, but this was not observed, even when hundreds of children were studied (Taylor et al., 1999). In these additional studies, children who had not been vaccinated were included as a control group, and no difference in the rates of autism was observed.

In 2011, Brian Deer reviewed Wakefield's study and all available records from the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom for these 12 children. He found that at most, two children showed symptoms days after vaccinations. At least five children showed developmental delays before being vaccinated. Six out of the 12 children may have had autism symptoms. None of the 12 children tested had all three-regressive autism, colitis, and symptoms days after vaccination.

Symptom	Wakefield	Wakefield NHS Records (Deer)
Symptoms days after vaccination	8	2?
Non-specific colitis	12	3
Regressive autism	9	6?
Intestinal/autism/symptoms after vaccine	12	0

(Wakefield, et al., 1998; Deer, 2011)

Wakefield's statements led to a worldwide panic about the safety of vaccines, but after Deer's report, Wakefield's study was retracted and his medical license was revoked for falsifying data. Click on the following links to review materials to enhance your knowledge of the scientific method and to support your analysis of Wakefield's experiment:

Steps of the Scientific Method: A simplified explanation of how the scientific method works, the steps taken to investigate phenomenon with diagrams

Do Vaccines Cause Autism?: A review of research demonstrating that vaccines and their components are not the cause of autism

Fifteen years after a vaccine scare, a measles epidemic: An analysis of vaccination trends and an increase in measles cases seen the UK

Answer the following 4 questions:

What was wrong with Wakefield's study? Discuss at least 1 variable or approach that should have been controlled or assessed.

Consider the source of some of his data (parental memory, for example), the small sample size, and whether he considered other variables (genetics, diet, and so on) that could have resulted in symptoms in these children.

Discuss the importance of a control group when using the scientific method.

Did Wakefield deserve to be barred from medical practice?

What were the consequences of his inflated conclusions?

I JUST NEED SIMPLE/BASIC ANSWERS NOT LONG ANSWERS

1. Explain how life can be viewed at different levels of biological complexity.

2. Explain how researchers study biology at different levels, ranging from molecules to ecosystems.

3. Distinguish between discovery-based science and hypothesis testing, and describe the steps of the scientific method.

4. Tell whether a given topic or research study is about biology. Tell whether that study is discovery-based or hypothesis testing, or both.

5. If presented with a research study, propose what the Research Question was.

6. If presented with an example, tell whether a statement is a hypothesis, theory or law and why you think so.

Describe the general structure of atoms and their constituent particles.

Relate atomic structure to the periodic table of the elements. List the elements that make up most of the mass of all living organisms.

Explain how a single element may exist in more than one form, called isotopes, and how certain isotopes have importance in human medicine.

Compare and contrast the types of atomic interactions (bonds) that lead to the formation of molecules.

Tell which atoms and how many of each make up a given molecule (formula or diagram).

For a bond in a given molecule, tell whether the bond is covalent, and if it is, tell whether it is polar or nonpolar and why you think so.

Explain the concept of electronegativity and how it contributes to the formation of polar and nonpolar covalent bonds. Tell whether a given atom is electronegative or not, and why you think so. Label partial charges in a polar bond.

Draw five water molecules and label the atoms and bonds within and between the 5 molecules.

Describe how hydrogen bonding determines many properties of water.

List the properties of water that make it a valuable solvent, and distinguish between hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances.

Explain how water has the ability to ionize into hydroxide ions (OH^â) and into hydrogen ions (H⁺), and how the H⁺ concentration is expressed as a solution's pH.

Explain the properties of carbon that make it the chemical basis of all life.

Describe the variety and chemical characteristics of common functional groups of organic compounds.

Diagram how small molecules may be assembled into larger ones by dehydration reactions and how hydrolysis reactions can reverse this process.

List the four major classes of organic molecules and macromolecules found in living organisms

If shown a molecule, tell whether it is organic or not and how you know.

If shown an organic molecule, tell whether it is an amino acid, nucleotide, fatty acid, steroid, monosaccharide or disaccharide and how you know.

Distinguish among different forms of carbohydrate molecules, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

Relate the functions of plant and animal polysaccharides to their structure.

List the several different classes of lipid molecules important in living organisms.

Diagram the structure of a triglyceride and explain how it is affected by the presence of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Explain why some fats are solid at room temperature, and others are liquid.

Discuss how fats function as energy-storage molecules.

Apply knowledge of the structure of phospholipids to the formation of cellular membranes.

Describe the chemical nature of steroids and give an example of their biological importance.

Give examples of the general types of functions that are carried out in cells by different types of proteins.

Explain how amino acids are joined to form a polypeptide, and distinguish between a polypeptide and protein.

Describe the levels of protein structure and the factors that determine them. If shown a protein diagram, label parts that represent its levels of structure. Tell what kind of research techniques are used to determine protein structure.

Outline the bonding forces important in determining protein shape and function.

Explain what domains are and their importance in proteins.

Describe the three components of nucleotides.

Distinguish between the structures of DNA and RNA.

Tell how certain bases pair with others in DNA and RNA.

Discuss the 4 major categories of organic macromolecules found in living things, including structure, function and location of each.

Compare and contrast the general structural features of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Outline the differences in complexity among bacteria, animal, and plant cells.

Describe how a eukaryotic cell can be viewed as four interacting systems: the nucleus, cytosol, endomembrane system, and semiautonomous organelles.

Explain how the proteome underlies the structure and function of cells.

Analyze how cell size and shape affect the surface area/volume ratio.

Identify the location of the cytosol in a eukaryotic cell and list its general functions.

Describe the three types of protein filaments that make up the cytoskeleton. Identify which underlie cilia, flagella, centrioles, the nuclear lamina, and the brush border. Tell which are readily assembled and disassembled. Tell which are involved in various cell shape changes or movements.

Explain how motor proteins interact with microtubules or actin filaments to promote cellular movement.

Describe the structure and organization of the cell nucleus. Describe the structure and function of nuclear pores.

Outline the structures and general functions of the components of the endomembrane system.

Distinguish between the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum.

Identify three important functions of the plasma membrane.

Tell why mitochondria and chloroplasts are called semi-autonomous organelles.

Discuss the evidence for the endosymbiosis theory.

Outline the structures and general functions of mitochondria and chloroplasts.

Explain how proteins are moved via vesicles through the endomembrane system.

If you are told about the function of a specific protein, tell where and in what type of cell that protein might be found.

Sketch and label a âtypicalâ animal cell and a real animal cell such as a red blood cell or a muscle cell. Tell how it might be different than the âtypicalâ cell in terms of its organelles and shape.

Sketch and label a âtypicalâ plant cell and a real plant cell such as a root or leaf cell. Tell how it might be different than the âtypicalâ cell in terms of its organelles and shape.

Describe the fluid-mosaic model of membrane structure. Tell why membranes are described as âfluid mosaicsâ.

Draw 10 phospholipid molecules as they would be arranged in a bilayer. Label the hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts.

61. Name all the places in a cell where membranes are found.

62. Describe at least three different categories of membrane proteins and tell what they do.

63. Describe what determines how fluid membranes are.

64. Explain how lipids are synthesized at the ER membrane.

65. Explain how transmembrane proteins are inserted into the ER membrane.

66. Compare and contrast diffusion, facilitated diffusion, passive transport, and active transport.

67. Explain the process of osmosis and how it affects cell structure.

68. Outline the functional differences between channels and transporters. Compare and contrast uniporters, symporters, and antiporters.

69. Explain the difference between primary active transport and secondary active transport.

70. Describe the structure and function of the sodium-potassium pump in animal cells and a similar pump in plants and prokaryotes.

71. Describe exocytosis and endocytosis and tell what molecules are moved across the membrane by these.

Discuss membrane transport, including its function and various forms and why all membranes have each form.

73. If a given cellular process is described, tell which form of transport might be involved.

List the different categories of animal tissue, providing general functions and specific examples of each.

Name the various organ systems found in many animals, list the components of each, and describe their general functions.

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Biology 2290F/G Study Guide - Final Guide: Scientific Method, John Tukey, Scientific Literature

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