Biology

What is biology? In one phrase, it is the study of living things (organisms). There are many different parts to biology. It can be divided into 12 sub-categories.

• Botany: The study of plants.
• Microbiology: The study of microscopic organisms such as bacteria or viruses.
• Zoology: The study of animals.
• Taxonomy: The study of classification (groups and categories for organisms).
• Genetics: The study of variations and inheritance in organisms.
• Evolution: The study of how organisms change and differ over long periods of time.
• Embryology: The study of how the fertilised egg develops in organisms.
• Ecology: The study of living things and their environment.
• Biotechnology: Using live cells or part of them to create useful products for humans.
• Anatomy: The study of the organs, usually done with dissection.
• Physiology: The study of the body systems of organisms.
• Biochemistry: The study of the chemistry in organisms.

To study or practice any science, one must use the 'Scientific Method '. It starts with an observation which leads to a hypothesis. The observation can be anything, but there is always a question of "Why?". This is where the hypothesis appears. The hypothesis is a guess at why the observation happened. To prove or contradict this guess, an experiment is carried out.

Experiments must be planned and controlled. It must also be a fair experiment. If chemicals are used, make sure they are of the same concentration and quantity. The experiment is very important in the Scientific Method. It is used to prove that a hypothesis is correct (or incorrect). A controlled experiment is when factors and variables are the same, except for the one tested. This means that say for your experiment you had to heat apple juice at exactly 95° Celcius. If one of your samples of apple juice got heated less or more, the result would change and be false. It is also useful, when testing to see if there is something present in your sample e.g. starch, to use a control. That means to test a different sample which you know doesn't contain any starch. It shows the negative reaction and the positive reaction.

It is important to publish your work if you have found something new. Your hypothesis isn't accepted until others can replicate your experiment. As soon as your experiment is supported by a large number of people and has so far not been proven wrong, your hypothesis becomes a 'Theory'.

Sources: http://bit.ly/7KJAS0, http://bit.ly/DSRX6