Unit 1: Introduction to Biology
1.1. The meaning and scope of biology
• Biology-study of life & living organisms.
• It is also called Biological science = Life science = Science of living things.
•Two Greek words 1. bio = life 2. logos = study.
•Biology studies from the minute chemical substances inside living cells to the broad
scale concepts of ecosystems and global environmental changes.
Life sciences is “a systematic study of living beings or study of nature of life”.
Teaching of life science basically deals with providing information about the latest
developments in biological science all over the world.
Unit 1: Introduction...
1.2. The origin and nature of life
Life has evolved in the following sequence of events.
The first living things to appear were the simplest creatures, single-celled organisms
= prokaryotes.
Then they came more complex, multi-cellular organisms = eukartyotes.
More complex meant that more than just an increase in cell number but to mean
cellular specialization (carring out specific tasks).
Millions, even billions of years of changes of organisms led to the living things we
now call plants and animals.
Unit 1: Introduction...
1.2. Theories on origin of life
• Several theories offer their own explanation on the possible mechanism of origin of life.
1. Theory of special creation:
• All the different forms of life that occur today on planet earth have been created by
God, the almighty.
2. Theory of spontaneous generation:
• Living organisms could arise suddenly and spontaneously from non-living matter.
• One of the firm believers in spontaneous generation was Aristotle, the Greek philosopher
(384-322 BC).
Unit 1: Introduction...
3. Theory of Catastrophism
• It is 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 disturbance.
• According to this theory, since each catastrophe completely destroyed the existing
life, each new creation consisted of life form different from that of previous ones.
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.
Unit 1: Introduction...
4. Cosmozoic theory (theory of panspermia)...
• This idea was proposed by Richter in 1865 and supported by Arrhenius
(1908) and other contemporary scientists.
• The theory did not gain any support.
• This theory lacks evidence, hence it was discarded.
5. Theory of chemical evolution:
• this theory is also known as Materialistic theory or physico-chemical theory.
• According this theory, 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.
Unit 1: Introduction...
• This theory was proposed independently by two scientists-A. I. Oparin, a Russian
scientist in 1923 and B. S. Haldane, an English scientist, in 1928.
1.3. Nature and characteristics of life
• Life is a "condition" that distinguishes living from non-living and dead organisms.
• Living tissues and organisms exhibit:
• Irritability: the ability to be excited or detect stimuli and to respond.
• Growth and reproduction: the power of multiplication and duplication, regeneration
and differentiation.
• Adaptability: permitting both change and maintenance of balances (homeostasis).
Unit 1: Introduction...
1.3. Nature and characteristics of life...
• Excretion and osmoregulation regulation are two important homeostatic processes
occurring in living cells, helping them to maintain a constant internal.
• Excretion is the removal from the cell of waste products of metabolism.
1.4. Scientific methods
• Scientific method is a process for experimentation used to explore observations
and answer questions.
The scientific method has five basic steps
Make an observation =>Ask a question =>Form a hypothesis (testable explanation) =>
Make a prediction based on the hypothesis =>Test the prediction.
Unit 1: Introduction...
1.4. Scientific methods ...
• Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions.
• Observation- Quantitative and qualitative measurements of the world.
• Inference- Deriving new knowledge based upon old knowledge.
• Hypotheses–A suggested explanation.
• Rejected hypothesis- An explanation that has been ruled out through experimentation.
• Accepted hypothesis- An explanation that has not been ruled out through excessive
• Experimentation and makes verifiable predictions that are true.
• Experiment- A test that is used to rule out a hypothesis or validate something already
known.
1.4. Scientific methods ...
• 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 (subject that does not undergo process).
• 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, or falsify the hypotheses.
• Although this may seem unintuitive, the process serves to establish more firmly what is
and what is not true.