CHAPTER 1: BIOLOGY: EXPLORING

LIFE
1.1 All forms of life share common properties
Common Properties
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Order
Reproduction
Growth and Development
Energy Processing
Response to the Environment
Regulation
Evolutionary Adaptation

Points:
o Living cells are the basis of the complex organization
of life.

1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization, new properties emerge at each level

1. Biosphere
2. Ecosystem all of the organisms living in a particular area with
physical components
3. Community the entire array of organisms in an ecosystem
4. Population all the individuals of a particular species living in
an area
5. Organism individual living thing
6. Organ System consists of several organs that cooperate in a
specific function
7. Organ made up of several different tissues
8. Cell the fundamental unit of life
9. Organelle a membrane-enclosed structure that performs a
specific function in a cell
10.
Molecule is a cluster of small chemical units called
atoms

Points:
o DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) the molecule of
inheritance
o Each unique form of life is called a species.
o The emergent properties of each level result from the
specific arrangement and interaction of its parts.

1.3 Cells are the structural and functional units of life

The ability of cells to give rise to new cells is the basis for all
reproduction.
Two basic types of cells:
o Prokaryotic cells - sole inhabitants for about the first
1.5 billion years of life on Earth
o Eukaryotic cells evolved about 2.1 billion years ago
System a combination of components that forms a more complex
organization
Examples of biological systems are cells, organisms, and
ecosystems.
Systems and their emergent properties are not unique to life.
Systems biology constructing models for the dynamic behavior
of whole systems based on studying the interactions among the
parts.

1.4 Organisms interact with their environment, exchanging matter and

energy

Two major processes of the dynamics of ecosystems:

o Recycling of chemical nutrients
o Flow of energy
An ecosystem gains and loses energy constantly.

1.5 The unity of life is based on DNA and a common genetic code

DNA the chemical substance of genes

Genes the units of inheritance that transmit information from
parents to offspring
Each DNA molecule is made up of two long chains coiled together
into what is called a double helix.
The DNA of genes provides the blueprints for making proteins.
Proteins serve as the tools that actually build and maintain the cell
and carry out its activities.

1.6 The diversity of life can be arranged into three domains

Dimensions of Biology
o Vertical Dimension size scale that stretches from
molecules to the biosphere
o Horizontal Dimension spanning across the great diversity
of organisms
Diversity is a hallmark of life.
Biologists have so far identified and named about 1.8 million
species.

Estimates of the total number of species range from 10 million to

over 100 million.

The Three Domains of Life

1. Bacteria are the most diverse and widespread prokaryotes.
2. Archaea live in Earths extreme environments
3. Eukarya organisms with eukaryotic cells
a. Protists diverse collection of mostly single-celled
organisms and some relatively simple multicellular
relatives
The other three groups within Eukarya contain multi-cellular
eukaryotes and are distinguished partly by their modes of
nutrition.
b.

Plantae produce their own food by photosynthesis

c. Fungi decompose the remains of dead organisms and

organic wastes and absorb the nutrients
d.

Animalia obtain food by ingestion

1.7 Evolution explains the unity and diversity of life

The history of life is documented by fossils.

In November 1859, the English naturalist Charles Darwin
published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection.
Evolution
o The idea that species living today are descendants of
ancestral species.
o The core theme that makes sense of everything we know and
learn about life
o Darwin called his evolutionary theory descent with
modification.
Natural selection the mechanism Darwin proposed for evolution.
o Those individuals with heritable traits best suited to the
environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than
less well-suited individuals.
o The result of natural selection is evolutionary adaptation,
the accumulation of favorable traits in a population over time.
o Numerous small changes in populations caused by natural
selection could eventually lead to major alterations of species.

1.8 Scientific inquiry is used to ask and answer questions about nature

Science
o Derived from a Latin verb meaning to know
o A way of knowing an approach to understanding the natural
world
o Involves the process of inquiry a search for information,
explanations, and answers to specific questions
Scientific Inquiry
o Making observations
o Forming hypotheses
o Testing predictions
Types of Data
o Qualitative
o Quantitative
Inductive Reasoning derives generalization from a large number
of specific observations
Deductive Reasoning the type of logic used to come up with ways
to test hypotheses, the logic flows from general premises to specific
results we should expect if the premises are true
Hypothesis a proposed explanation for a set of observations
A scientific theory is much broader in scope than a hypothesis.

1.9 Scientists form and test hypotheses and share their results

A hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable.

A hypothesis gains credibility by surviving multiple attempts to
falsify it, while alternative hypotheses are eliminated by testing
Experimental and control groups differ only in the one factor the
experiment is designed to test.
Science is a social activity.

1.10 Biology, technology, and society are connected in important ways

The goal of science is to understand natural phenomena.

The goal of technology is to apply scientific knowledge for some
specific purpose.
Scientists discoveries; engineers inventions

1.11 Evolution is connected to our everyday lives

Biologists now recognize that differences in DNA among individuals,

populations, and species reflect the patterns of evolutionary
change.
The recognition that DNA differs between people has led to the use
of DNA tests to identify individuals.

Evolution teaches us that the environment is a powerful selective

force for traits that best adapt populations to their environment.
Evolutionary theory can help us be more judicious in our use of
antibiotics and pesticides and help us develop strategies for
conservation efforts.