Science

~the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

Observation

~the action or process of observing something or someone carefully or in order to gain information

Data

~facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis

Inference

~a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning

Hypothesis

~a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation

• spontaneous generation

~the supposed production of living organisms from nonliving matter, as inferred from the apparent appearance of life in some supposedly sterile environments

controlled experiment

~is a scientific test that is directly manipulated by a scientist, in order to test a single variable at a time

manipulated experiment

~ is the independent variable in an experiment

 theory

~a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained

Biology

~the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behavior, origin, and distribution

Cell

~the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, typically microscopic and consisting of cytoplasm and a nucleus enclosed in a membrane. Microscopic organisms typically consist of a single cell, which is either prokaryotic

 asexual reproduction

~reproduction, as budding, fission, or spore formation, not involving the union of gametes

 sexual reproduction