1. The Characteristics of Life Living things: 1.Have one or more cells that contain DNA 2.Can reproduce 3.Carry out growth and development 4.Adjust to their environment 5.Need energy 6.Adapt and evolve Remember: the Martian and the Car

2. The Methods of Biology 1.Problem: Identify the question 2.Observation: Figure out what you already know 3.Inference: Make a logical guess 4.Hypothesis: If… then 5.Experiment: A test of the hypothesis 6.Results/Analyze Data: Organize your information 7.Conclusion: Communicate what you learned and how you learned it. REPEAT many times! 8.Theory: Supported by lots of data and observations; can change if new evidence is presented 9.Law: A statement that is generally considered true

3. Types of Observations Qualitative: Remember Mystery Bags Examples –Round –Soft –Squishy –Large –Small –Yellow –Long –Pretty Quantitative: Remember Measuring Gummy Bears Examples –Meters –Kilograms –Seconds –Celsius/Kelvin –Liters –cm 3 –g/cm 3

4. KILO 1000 Units HECTO 100 Units DEKA 10 Units DECI 0.1 Unit CENTI 0.01 Unit MILLI 0.001 Unit Meters Liters Grams Metric System Conversions How do you use the “ladder” method? 1 st – Determine your starting point. 2 nd – Count the “jumps” to your ending point. 3 rd – Move the decimal the same number of jumps in the same direction. 4 km = _________ m 1 2 3 How many jumps does it take? Starting Point Ending Point 4. 1 __. 2 3 = 4000 m

5. Graphing Independent vs. Dependent variables Remember: D R Y M I X Which is the independent variable? (M I X) Which is the dependent variable? (DRY) Graphs and graphing advice from http://misterguch.brinkster.net/graph.html