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Beyond playing a critical role in energy flow and nutrient cycling, plants interact with and impact their environment in many other ways. Their presence provides not only food but also habitat for other organisms. Plants influence temperature and other aspects of climate. They also compete with one another for resources in the environment. These and many other phenomena demonstrate that plants are not just a passive backdrop on the landscape, but are a dynamic part of their environment.

A central principle of ecology is that organisms must have traits which help them fit and survive in their environment. For example, a cactus produces shallow roots that allow it to rapidly absorb any rainfall in the desert and specialized cells in its stem that swell to store that water. Instead of conducting photosynthesis, the leaves are modified into spines that protect the cactus from animals that may try to eat it. Photosynthesis occurs in the outer layers of its succulent, green stem.

The traits of the cactus described above are its phenotype, which is any structural, biochemical, or behavioral characteristic expressed by an organism. The genes in the DNA that code for the phenotype are the genotype. Genetically based phenotypic traits that promote survival and reproductive success of an organism in its environment are adaptations. For example, the shallow roots, photosynthetic stems, and spines are adaptations that promote cactus survival in the desert.

What's important about scientific reasoning is not what all the different modes of reasoning are called, but the fact that the process relies on careful, logical consideration of how evidence supports or does not support an idea, of how different scientific ideas are related to one another, and of what sorts of things we can expect to observe if a particular idea is true.

In fact, there are many ways to test almost any scientific idea; experimentation is only one approach.

the rigor of a scientific study has much more to do with the investigator's approach than with the discipline.

A 2005 survey of scientists at top research universities found that more than 48% had a religious affiliation and that more than 75% believed that religions convey important truths.

While it's true that all scientific ideas are subject to change if warranted by the evidence, many scientific ideas (e.g., evolutionary theory, foundational ideas in chemistry) are supported by many lines of evidence, are extremely reliable, and are unlikely to change.

Hypotheses are explanations that are limited in scope, applying to fairly narrow range of phenomena. The term law is sometimes used to refer to an idea about how observable phenomena are related — but the term is also used in other ways within science. Theories are deep explanations that apply to a broad range of phenomena and that may integrate many hypotheses and laws.

Because science deals only with natural phenomena and explanations, it cannot support or contradict the existence of supernatural entities — like God.

at the cutting edge of scientific research — areas of knowledge that are difficult to represent in introductory textbooks — scientific ideas may change rapidly as scientists test out many different possible explanations trying to figure out which are the most accurate.

Scientific research also involves creative problem-solving, communicating with others, logical reasoning, and many other skills that might or might not be a part of every science class. Second, science encompasses a remarkably broad set of activities.

strong literacy component that supports the development of reading skills as students acquire classification skills, oral communication skills, and positive attitudes toward science