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CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY
1.1 THEMES AND CONCEPTS OF BIOLOGY
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WHAT IS BIOLOGY?
• Biology is the science that studies life
• Four main questions biologist strive to answer:
1) What are the shared properties that make something “alive”?
What about viruses?
2) How do those various living things function?
3) How do we organize the different kinds of organisms so that we can
better understand them?
4) How did this diversity arise and how is it continuing?
PROPERTIES OF LIFE
All groups of living organisms share several key characteristics or functions:
1) Order - organisms are highly organized structures that consist
of one or more cells.
2) Sensitivity or response to stimuli - organisms respond
to diverse stimuli
3) Reproduction - DNA containing genes are passed along to an
organism’s offspring
4) Adaptation - All adaptations enhance the reproductive potential
of the individual exhibiting them, including their ability to survive to
reproduce
5) Growth and development - Organisms grow and develop
according to specific instructions coded for by their genes
6) regulation/homeostasis - the ability of an organism to maintain
constant internal conditions
7) energy processing/metabolism - all organisms use a source of
energy for their metabolic activities
8) Evolution - organisms that evolve characteristics fit for the
environment will have greater reproductive success under
natural selection
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CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
[Link]
LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION OF LIVING THINGS
Living things are highly organized and
structured
The atom is the smallest and most
fundamental unit of matter - Hydrogen
A molecule is a chemical structure
consisting of at least two atoms held
together by a chemical bond – H2O
An example of a macromolecule is
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which
contains the instructions for the functioning DNA molecule
of the organism that contains it
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The atom is the smallest and most fundamental unit of matter
A molecule is a chemical structure consisting of at least two atoms held together by a
chemical bond.
Organelles are small structures that exist within cells and perform specialized
functions.
The cell itself is the smallest fundamental unit of structure and function in living
organisms.
Cells combine to make tissues, which are groups of similar cells carrying out the same
function.
Organs are collections of tissues grouped together based on a common function.
An organ system is a higher level of organization that consists of functionally related
organs.
Organisms are individual living entities.
All the individuals of a species living within a specific area are collectively called a
population
A community is the set of populations inhabiting a particular area.
An ecosystem consists of all the living things in a particular area together with the abiotic, or
non-living, parts of that environment such as nitrogen in the soil or rainwater.
7 The biosphere is the collection of all ecosystems, and it represents the zones of life on
Earth.
BIOLOGICAL LEVELS
[Link]
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TAXONOMIC HIERARCHY
In the 18th century, a scientist named Carl Linnaeus first proposed organizing
the known species of organisms into a hierarchical taxonomy.
This diagram shows the levels of taxonomic hierarchy for a dog, from the broadest
category—domain—to the most specific—species.
DOMAINS
This phylogenetic tree was constructed by microbiologist Carl Woese using genetic
relationships. The tree shows the separation of living organisms into three domains:
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Bacteria and Archaea are organisms without a nucleus or
other organelles surrounded by a membrane and, therefore, are prokaryotes.
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EXAMPLES OF ORGANISMS FROM THREE DOMAINS
These images represent different domains. The scanning electron micrograph shows (a)
bacterial cells belong to the domain Bacteria, while the (b) extremophiles, seen all together
as colored mats in this hot spring, belong to domain Archaea. Both the (c) sunflower and
(d) lion are part of domain Eukarya.
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CLASSIFICATION
[Link]
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1.2 THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE
Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") can be
defined as knowledge about the natural world
Cannot answer questions outside the realm of material
phenomena
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THE NATURE OF SCIENCE
Hypothesis - a suggested explanation for an event, which can be
tested
Scientific theory - a generally accepted, thoroughly tested and
confirmed explanation for a set of observations or phenomena
Scientific law - often expressed in mathematical formulas, which
describe how elements of nature will behave under certain specific
conditions
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SCIENTIFIC THEORY & SCIENTIFIC LAW
[Link]
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SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Scientists seek to understand the world and the way it operates
Inductive reasoning - formulating generalizations inferred from
careful observation and the analysis of a large amount of data
Deductive reasoning - a form of logical thinking that uses a general
principle or law to forecast specific results
Descriptive science - to observe, explore, and discover
Hypothesis-based science - begins with a specific question or
problem and a potential answer or solution that can be tested
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THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Sir Francis Bacon is credited with
being the first to document the
scientific method
English politician and philosopher (1561–
1626)
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THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The scientific method is a series of defined
steps that include experiments and careful
observation
A hypothesis must be testable to ensure that
it is valid
A hypothesis must also be falsifiable,
meaning that it can be disproven by
experimental results
variable - any part of the experiment that
can vary or change during the experiment
control - a part of the experiment that does
not change.
If a hypothesis is not supported by data, a
new hypothesis can be proposed
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THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
[Link]
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