Critical Thinking Activities - Chapter 1

Question 1. Recent satellite probes as well as meteorite discoveries have been used to search for the possibility of life on Mars. What properties would scientists look for in currently living life forms? If life once existed but became extinct, what evidence would still exist that life once existed?

Question 2. Ecology experiments can be separated into two general categories. Some ecologists prefer to bring an organism into the laboratory and isolate it in a chamber where they can keep the setup simple and where they determine all the environmental conditions (autecology). Other ecologists prefer to study organisms in the wild and attempt to determine why they occur in certain natural habitats (synecology). Using terms for science methodology, explain the benefits of both systems.

Answers are available to instructors in the Instructor's Manual.
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