Blue Nile College

Department Of Nursing

General Biology
For First year BSc Nursing Students

By: Anbesaw Mitiku (BEd, BSc, MSc)

MARCH 2025

2/1/2026 General Biology 1

 Course syllabus
• Course Title: General Biology
• Credit hour: 3
• Course number: Biol.1012
• Duration :16wks
• Course instructor: Anbesaw M.
• Email address: anbesawm@[Link]

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 Course Description
The Course introduces basic concepts of
science, scientific methods and the subject
matter of biology.
Chemical basis of life, basic characteristics
of living things, origin of life, cellular
structure, cell metabolism and
transformation of energy are described in
detail.

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 Course Description…
The course covers basic ideas of genetics
and evolution, infection and immunity,

taxonomy of organisms, major ecological

and natural resource conservation

concepts and population and health

aspects.

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 Module competency and Course
objective

• Module competency: After completion of

this module:
The student nurses will play competent roles in
using biological concepts in the areas of
nursing education and nursing profession

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Course Goal (Minimum Learning Competencies)

 At the end of the course, the students will be

able to:
• Explain the scope of biology and molecular
basis of life
• Describe life activities from the cellular point of
view
• Manipulate basic biological tool, record data and
draw conclusions

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 Course Goal…
• Understand the basic concepts of
genetics and inheritance
• Understand the concepts of infection and
immunity
• Classify organisms based on their cellular
organization and complexity

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Teaching method and material
 Teaching method
• Interactive presentation
• Group discussion
• Group assignment and presentation
• Reading assignment
 Teaching Aids
Printed materials
LCD projectors

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 Course Policy
• Attendance: this course will involve numerous
discussion and class activities students are
expected to attend all classes
• Assignments: students must do given assignments
on time
 Late assignment submission will not be accepted
• Cheating/plagiarism: Students must do their own
work
Cheating or Plagiarism will result in
disqualification of the result

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 Course Policy…
 Assessment
• Continuous assessment (50%)
Quiz……………………………..5%
Assignment …………………….15%
Test ……………………………2X15%=30
• Final written examination………………..50%
• Total----------------------------100%
• Grading system- Based on the college’s
grading policy

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 References
1. Biggs, A., Hagins, W.C., Holliday, W.G., Kapicka, C.L., Lundgren, L., Rogers, W.D., Sewer, M.B. and Zike, D.
(2008). Biology. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., United States of America.
2. Campbell N.A., Reece, J.B. and Mitchell L.G. (1999). Biology. Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company
Inc an imprint of Addison Wesley Longman, Inc, United States of America.
3. Eldon D. Enger, Frederick C. Ross and David B. Bailey (2005). Concepts in Biology. 11th ed. Tata Mc
Graw-Hill, New Delhi, India.
4. Guttman B.S. and Hopkins III J.W. (1999). Biology. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., United States of
America.
5. Keeton , [Link] Mc Fadden, C.H (1983). Elements of Biological Science. 3rd ed. \
6. Postlethwait, J.H. and Hopson, J.L. (2006). Modern Biology. Holt, Rinhart and Winson, United States of
America.
7. Presson J. and Jenner J. (2008). Biology: Dimensions of Life. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., United
States of America.
8. Raven, P.H. and Jonson, G.B (2011). Biology. 9th ed. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, NY 10020
9. Robert, M.B.V. (1986). Biology: A Functional Approach. Thomas Nelson & Sons, Canada.
10. Sandra Pennington (2000). Introduction to Genetics. 11th hours (Malden, Mass)
11. Starr, C. and Taggart, R. (1987). Biology: the Unity & Diversity of Life. 4th ed. Wadsworth Publishing
Company, Belmont, California. \
12. Susan Elrod, Ph.D & William Stansfield , Ph.D (2002). Genetics. 4th ed. Tata Mc Graw-Hill, New Delhi, India.
\
13. Sylvia S. Mader (2001). Biology. 7th ed. Mc Graw-Hill
14. Taylor, D.J., Stout , G.W. Green, N.P.O. and Soper R. (2008). Biological Science, Cambridge University
Press,
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 Course content
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction
o The meaning and scope of biology
o The nature and origin of life
o Scientific method
 CHAPTER 2: Biological Molecules
o Carbohydrates
o Lipids
o Proteins
o Nucleic acids
o Vitamins and coenzymes
o Water
o Minerals
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 Course content…
 CHAPTER 3: The cellular Basis of Life
o The cell theory
o Cell organelles
o Structure and Function of Organelles
o Cellular diversity
o Transport in cells
Nature and structure of biological membranes
Membrane permeability and material transport
Types of transport in cells (diffusion, osmosis, active
transport, bulk transport)
Factors affecting membrane permeability

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 Course content…
 CHAPTER 4: Cellular metabolism and
Metabolic Disorders
o Cellular metabolism
o Enzymes and their role in Metabolism
 Chemical nature of enzymes
 Mechanisms of enzyme action
 Factors affecting enzyme activity
o Cellular respiration
 Anaerobic respiration
 Aerobic respiration
 Metabolic Disorders, diagnosis and treatments(Diabetes
mellitus)

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 Course content…
 CHAPTER 5: Genetics and Evolution
o Basic Principles of Mendelian genetics and
Patterns of inheritance
o Molecular genetics and inheritance
DNA, Gene, Chromosomes and Cell division
ABO blood groups and Rh Factors
o Introduction to Evolution

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 Course content…
 CHAPTER 6:Infectious diseases and
Immunity
o Principles of infectious diseases
o Types of infectious disease and their
causative agent
o Modes of transmission
o Host defenses against infectious
diseases
o Adverse immune reactions (responses)
o
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Tumor Immunolology
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 Course content…
 CHAPTER 7:Taxonomy of Organisms
o Early attempts to classify organisms
o Modern Views of Classification (Schemes of
Classification)
o Domains of Life and the Hierarchical System
of Classification
o Binomial Nomenclature

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 Course content…
 CHAPTER 8:Ecology and Conservation
of Natural Resources
o Definition of ecological terms and Basic
concepts of Ecology
Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
Flow of energy through the ecosystem
Cycling of materials (nutrients)
o Conservation of natural resources
Principles of conservation
o Environmental Pollution and Public Health
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 Course content…
 CHAPTER 9:Application of Biological
Sciences
 Application of Biology in medicine and other
health sciences (Fast diagnosis tools, drug and
vaccine production, gene therapy, immuno-
diagnosis, immunotherapy, transplantation,
medicinal plants)
 Application of Biology in waste treatments and
recycling (Bioenergy, bioremediation, water
treatment, biomining)
 Application of Biology in forensic Science
 Biological warfare
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CHAPTER ONE -INTRODUCTION
 Learning Objectives: After completing this
chapter, you will be expected to:
 define the term biology
 know the origin and the nature of life
 explain scientific methods

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 The meaning and scope of biology
• Biological Science(s) is the study of life and living
organisms.
• It is also called as “Biology”.
• The word ‘Biology’ is derived from Greek words-
‘bio’ means life and ‘logos’ means study of.
• In the late 1700s Pierre-Antoine de Monet and
Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck coined the term biology.
• Earlier study of living things was restricted to the
pure Science like Botany and Zoology that together
comprise the Biology, but as the time passed new
branches of biology were evolved
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• New technologies developed in pure
subjects as well as in applied fields, which
gave rise to a very broad concept of science
called Biological Sciences.
• Biological Sciences is an extensive study
covering the minute workings of chemical
substances inside living cells to the broad
scale concepts of ecosystems and global
environmental changes.

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• It is also concerned with the physical
characteristics and behaviors of
organisms living today and long ago.
• How they came into existence and what
relation they possess with each other and
their environments?
• Intimate study of details of the human
brain, the composition of our genes, and
even the functioning of our reproductive
system are dealt in Biological sciences.
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• Therefore, Biology is the science of Living
Things.
• That is why Biology is sometimes known as
Life Science.
• The life sciences can be defined as “a
systematic study of living beings or study of
nature”.
• Teaching of life Science basically deals with
providing information about the latest
developments in the field of Biological
sciences all over the world.
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 The origin and nature of life
• One of the biggest and most important of emergent
phenomena in nature is that of the origin of life.
• The mystery(secret) of life's origin is still a big
debating issue in science.
• The question “what is life?” is so hard to answer
• We really want to know much more than what it is,
we want to know why it is, “we are really asking, in
physical terms, why a specific material system is an
organism and not something else”.

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 The origin of life...
• To answer this ‘why’ question we need to
understand how life might have been
originated.
• There are a number of theories about the
origin of life.
• The next few sections give emphasis on
these different theories of origin of life.

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 The origin of life...
• The evolution of life on Earth has involved
the following sequence of events.
• The first living things to appear were the
simplest creatures, single-celled organisms.
• Then, they came in to more complex and lead
to multi-cellular organisms
• Increase in complexity mean increase in cell
number, and more cells showed cellular
specialization, where certain cells within the
multi-cellular organism carried out specific
tasks.
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 The origin of life...
• Millions, even billions of years of changes of
organisms led to the living things we now call plants
and animals.
• Since this basic sequence of events is in
accord(consensus) with that agreed upon by most
biologists, geologists, paleontologists(fossilists)
and even theologians, one might conclude that
Aristotle, Moses and Darwin were all keen observers
and naturalists who were able to logically assess the
most probable creation theory

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 The origin of life...
• Scientists generally concur(agree) that the time
from the formation of our solar system until now
has been on the order of some 4.5 billion years.
• Those who believe in the world as we know it was
created in six days are often called creationists.
• Their method of inquiry is based on the belief that
the Bible is to be accepted as a completely
accurate accounting of all about which it speaks.
• Scientists, on the other hand, utilize what they call
the scientific method, which allows them to test
hypotheses and theories and to develop concepts
and ideas.
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 Summary of Theories on Origin of life
 Several attempts have been made from time to
time to explain the origin of life on Earth.
 As a result, there are several theories which offer
their own explanation on the possible mechanism
of origin of life.
 The following are some of them:
1. Theory of Special Creation:
 According to this theory, all the different forms of
life that occur today on the Earth have been created
by God, the Almighty.

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2. Theory of Spontaneous Generation:
This theory assumed that living organisms could arise
suddenly and spontaneously from any kind of non-living matter.
One of the firm believers in spontaneous generation was
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher (384-322 BC).

3. Theory of Catastrophism:
It is simply a modification of the theory of Special Creation.
It states that there have been several creations of life by God,
each preceded by a catastrophe resulting from some kind of
geological disturbances.
According to this theory, since each catastrophe completely
destroyed the existing life, each new creation consisted of life
form different from that of the previous ones.

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4. Cosmozoic Theory (Theory of Panspermia):
According to this theory, life has reached this planet Earth from other
heavenly bodies such as meteorites, in the form of highly resistance spores
of some organisms.
The hypothesis that microorganisms may transmit life from outer space to
habitable bodies; or the process of such transmission.
This idea was proposed by Richter in 1865 and supported by Arrhenius
(1908) and other contemporary scientists.
This theory did not gain any support since it lacks evidence, and finally was
rejected.
5. Theory of Chemical Evolution:
This theory is known as Materialistic Theory or Physico-chemical Theory.
 It states, origin of life on Earth is the result of a slow and gradual process
of chemical evolution that probably occurred about 3.8 billion years ago.
This theory was proposed independently by two scientists- Oparin, a
Russian scientist in 1923 and Haldane, an English scientist in 1928.

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 Scientific methods
• The scientific method is a process for
experimentation that is used to explore
observations and answer questions.
• It is an empirical(Practical) method of
acquiring knowledge.
• It is also the technique used in the
construction and testing of a scientific
hypothesis.

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The scientific method has five basic steps,
plus one feedback step:
• Make an observation.
• Ask a question.
• Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
• Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
• Test the prediction.
 Iterate(to perform or repeat an action): use
the results to make new hypotheses or
predictions.

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• Observation- Quantitative and qualitative
measurements of the world.
• Inference- Deriving new knowledge based upon old
knowledge.
• Hypotheses–Is a suggested explanation.
• Rejected Hypothesis- Is an explanation that has
been ruled out through experimentation.
• Accepted Hypothesis- Is when an explanation that
has not been ruled out through excessive
experimentation and makes verifiable predictions,
which is true.
• Experiment - A test that is used to rule out a
hypothesis or validate something already known.
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• Scientific Method - The process of scientific

investigation.

• Theory - A widely accepted hypothesis that stands

the test of time. Often tested, and usually never

rejected.

• The scientific method is based primarily on the

testing of hypotheses by experimentation.

• This involves a control, or subject that does not

undergo the process in question.

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• A scientist will also seek to limit variables

to one or another very small number, single

or minimum number of variables.

• The procedure is to form a hypothesis or

prediction about what you believe or expect

to see and then do everything you can to

violate that, or falsify the hypotheses.

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 Summary of the scientific method
• Step 1: Observe behavior or other phenomena
• Step 2: Form a tentative answer or explanation (a
hypothesis (guess a reason)
• Step 3: Use your hypothesis to generate a testable
prediction
• Step 4: Make systematic, planned observations
(data collection)
• Step 5: Results and Discussion Use the
observations to evaluate (support, refute, or refine)
the original hypothesis
• Step 6: Conclusion
• Step 7: Recommendation
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 THANK YOU!

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