Biology, Eighth Edition (Raven)

Chapter 1: The Science of Biology

Learning Outcomes

• Understand why it is important to have a good working knowledge of biology.
• Understand the processes involved in scientific discovery.
• Describe how a hypothesis is formulated and how it becomes a theory.
• Define variable and understand its involvement in a controlled experiment.
• Cite the evidence from Darwin’s voyage that initiated his ideas on evolution.
• Explain the revolutionary aspects of Darwin’s evolutionary concepts.
• Know the scientists who greatly influenced Darwin and how their work contributed to his.
• Understand why natural selection is the driving force of evolution.
• Explain why Darwin postponed the publication of his theory and describe the event that finally prompted its publication.
• List the evidence after Darwin’s time that further supports the validity of the theory of evolution.
• List the 4 themes that unify biology as a science.