Invitation to Biology

Chapter 1
1.1 Impacts/Issues:
The Secret Life of Earth
Biology
The systematic study of life
We have encountered only a fraction of the organisms that live on Earth
Scientists constantly discover new species
Extinction rates are accelerating
Video: Lost worlds and other wonders
Exploring New Guinea
A rare golden-mantled tree kangaroo

1.2 Lifes Levels of Organization

The building blocks (atoms) that make up all living things are the same ones that make up all nonliving
things
The unique properties of life emerge as certain kinds of molecules become organized into cells
Lifes Levels of Organization
Atom
Fundamental building block of all matter
Molecule
An association of two or more atoms
Cell
Smallest unit of life
Organism
An individual; consists of one or more cells
Lifes Levels of Organization
Population
Group of individuals of a species in a given area
Community
All populations of all species in a given area
Ecosystem
A community interacting with its environment
Biosphere
All regions of Earth that hold life
Nature and Life
Nature
Everything in the universe, except what humans have manufactured

Emergent property
A characteristic of a system that does not appear in any of a systems component parts
Levels of Organization in Nature
Animation: Lifes levels of organization
Active Figure: Levels of organization
1.3 Overview of Lifes Unity

All living things have similar characteristics

Require energy and nutrients
Sense and respond to change
Reproduce with the help of DNA
Energy Sustains Lifes Organization
One-way flow of energy through the biosphere and cycling of nutrients among organisms sustain lifes
organization
Energy
The capacity to do work
Nutrient
Substance that is necessary for survival, but that an organism cant make for itself
Organisms and Energy Sources
Producers
Organisms that make their own food using energy and simple raw materials from the environment
Example: plants
Consumers
Organisms that get energy and carbon by feeding on tissues, wastes, or remains of other
organisms
Example: animals
Energy Flow and Material Cycling

Animation: One-way energy flow and materials cycling

Organisms Sense and Respond to Change
Organisms sense and respond to change to keep conditions in their internal environment within a range
that favors cell survival (homeostasis)
Homeostasis
Set of processes by which an organism keeps its internal conditions within tolerable ranges
Receptor
Molecule or structure that responds to a stimulus
Response to Stimuli
Organisms Grow, Develop and Reproduce
Organisms grow, develop, and reproduce based on information encoded in DNA, which they inherit from
their parents

Growth
Increase in size, volume, and number of cells in multicelled species
Development
Multistep process by which the first cell of a new individual becomes a multicelled adult
Organisms Grow, Develop and Reproduce
Reproduction
Process by which parents produce offspring
Inheritance
Transmission of DNA from parents to offspring
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)
Molecule that carries hereditary information about traits
1.4 Introduction to Lifes Diversity
The millions of species on Earth vary greatly in details of body form and function
Each species is given a unique two-part name that includes genus and species names
Species
A type of organism
Genus
Group of species that share a unique set of traits
Classification Systems
Classification systems group species according to traits and organize information about species
One system sorts all organisms into one of three domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
The eukaryotes include plants, protists, fungi and animals
Lifes Diversity:
Three-Domain Classification System
Animation: Lifes diversity
Prokaryotes
Prokaryotes
Single celled organisms in which DNA is not contained in a nucleus
Bacterium
A member of the prokaryotic domain Bacteria
Archaeans
A member of the prokaryotic domain Archaea
Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes
Organisms whose cells typically have a nucleus
Fungus
Eukaryotic consumer that obtains nutrients by digestion and absorption outside the body
Protists
Eukaryotes that are not plants, animals, or fungi

Eukaryotes
Plant
Typically a multicelled, photosynthetic producer
Animal
Multicelled consumer that develops through a series of embryonic stages and moves about
during all or part of the life cycle
Animation: Three domains
1.5 The Nature of Scientific Inquiry

Critical thinking
Mental process of judging the quality of information before deciding whether or not to accept it
The Scope and Limits of Science
Science is a way of looking at the natural world which helps us to communicate our experiences without
bias by focusing only on testable ideas about observable phenomena
Science does not address the supernatural
Science
The systemic study of nature
1.6 How Science Works
Researchers make and test potentially falsifiable predictions about how the natural world works
Generally, scientific inquiry involves forming a hypothesis (testable assumption) about an observation
then making and testing predictions based on the hypothesis
A hypothesis that is not consistent with the results of scientific tests is modified or discarded
Common Research Practices
1. Observe some aspect of nature
2. Frame a question about your observation
3. Propose a hypothesis (a testable explanation of the observation)
Common Research Practices
4. Make a prediction a statement based on a hypothesis, about some condition that should exist if the
hypothesis is not wrong
5. Test the accuracy of the prediction by experiments or gathering information (tests may be performed on
a model)
Common Research Practices

6. Assess the results of the tests (data) to see if they support or disprove the hypothesis
7. Conclusions: Report all steps of your work and conclusions to the scientific community
Making Observations: A Field Study
A Scientific Theory
Scientific theory
A hypothesis that has not been disproven after many years of rigorous testing
Useful for making predictions about other phenomena
Laws of Nature
Law of nature
Generalization that describes a consistent and universal natural phenomenon for which we do not
yet have a complete scientific information
Example: gravity
Examples of Scientific Theories
Animation: An example of the scientific method
1.7 The Power of Experiments
Natural processes are often influenced by many interacting variables
Variable
A characteristic or event that differs among individuals
The Power of Experiments
Experiments simplify interpretations of complex biological systems by focusing on the effect of one
variable at a time
Experiment
A test to support or falsify a prediction
Experimental and Control Groups
Experimental group
A group of objects or individuals that display or are exposed to a variable under investigation
Control group
A group of objects or individuals that is identical to an experimental group except for one variable
Potato Chips and Stomachaches
Example: Butterflies and Birds
Question
Why does a peacock butterfly flick its wings?
Two hypotheses
Exposing wing spots scares off predators
Wing sounds scare off predators

Two predictions
Individuals without spots are eaten more often
Individuals without sounds are eaten more often
Peacock Butterfly Defenses
Experiments and Results
Four groups of butterflies were exposed to predators (birds)
Butterflies without spots
Butterflies without sounds
Butterflies without spots or sounds
Control group
Test results support both original hypotheses
Results: Peacock Butterfly Experiment
Sampling Error
Biology researchers experiment on subsets of a group, which may result in sampling error
Sampling error
Difference between results derived from testing an entire group of events or individuals, and
results derived from testing a subset of the group
Sampling Error
Probability
Researchers try to design experiments carefully in order to minimize sampling error
Statistically significant
Refers to a result that is statistically unlikely to have occurred by chance
Animation: Sampling error
1.8 Impacts/Issues Revisited
Biologists constantly discover new species
Mouse lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara), discovered in Madagascar in 2005

Digging Into Data:

Peacock Butterfly Predator Defenses