LIFESCI 15 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-2: Null Hypothesis, Scientific Literacy, Scientific Method
Document Summary
Biological literacy- ability to use scientific inquiry to think about real issues, communicate concerns, and integrate them in decisions. Rat and food mechanism experiment- rats can be taught to obtain food from a food dispenser, but they start exhibiting strange behaviors when a 10 second delay is put on the dispenser. Superstition- irrational belief that actions/circumstances unrelated to an event can help render its occurrence. People use it because it seems to work, but correlation does not equal causation. Scientific method- process of elimination and discovery that involves a number of steps to testing a hypothesis. Starts with the observation of a phenomenon- ex. Hypothesis is formulated, but must be testable and refutable- ex. Prediction is made as to whether the hypothesis is proven correct or incorrect- ex. If my hypothesis is true, if i give a subject steroids, it will become more muscular. Experiment is conducted to test hypothesis, but one must control all variables except for.
