Chapter One: Exploring Biology

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What is Biology?

Biology is the scientific study of life

But what is life????
An animal? Virus? Fetus?
Biologically all life shares 7 properties

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1.1 All forms of life share common properties

Orderthe highly
ordered structure that
typifies life
Ex. Sunflower
cells

1.1 All forms of life share common properties

Reproductionthe
ability of organisms to
reproduce their own
kind

1.1 All forms of life share common properties

Growth and development

growth and development controlled by inherited
DNA (blueprints)

1.1 All forms of life share common properties

Energy processing
the use of chemical energy
to power an organisms
activities and chemical
reactions
Photosynthesis
Respiration

1.1 All forms of life share common properties

Response to the environment

an ability to respond to
environmental stimuli

1.1 All forms of life share common properties

Regulationan ability to
control an organisms internal
environment within limits that
sustain life

1.1 All forms of life share common properties

Evolutionary adaptation
adaptations evolve over
many generations as
individuals with traits
best suited to their
environments have
greater reproductive
success and pass their
traits to offspring.

1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization

So how do we study it? Where do we start?

What does it include? Consider diversity.
Choose an animal.which leads us to

Scale

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1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization

Biological organization unfolds as follows:
Biosphereall of the environments on Earth that
support life
One of many spheres

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1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization

Ecosystemall the
organisms living in a
particular area and the
physical components with
which they interact
Ex. A forest/Fairfax
County

Communityall the
organisms living in the
ecosystems
Ex. All the organisms in a
forest/GMU (students,
profs, staff etc)
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1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization

Populationall the
individuals of a species living
in a specific area
Ex. Group of lemurs/ student
body

Organisman individual
living thing
Ex. A lemur/a student

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1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization

Organ systemseveral organs that cooperate in a

specific function, Ex. Nervous, digestive
Organa structure that is composed of tissues and
that provides a specific function for the organism, Ex.
kidney
Tissuesa group of similar cells that perform a
specific function, Ex. nervous, muscle tissue
Cellsthe fundamental unit of life, Ex. Nerve cell

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1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization

Organellea membrane-bound structure that performs
a specific function in a cell (eukaroytic), Ex. Nucleus,
ribosome
Moleculea cluster of small chemical units called
atoms held together by chemical bonds, Ex. DNA,
water, carbon dioxide

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1.2 In lifes hierarchy of organization, new

properties emerge at each level
Emergent properties are
new properties that arise in each step upward in the
hierarchy of life, from the arrangement and interactions
among them.
Ex. Cells are the level at which the properties of life
emerge.
A cell can: has internal order, regulate its internal
environment, take in and use energy, respond to the
environment, reproduce, is enclosed by a membrane that
regulates the passage of materials between the cell and
its surroundings and uses DNA for genetic information
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1.3 Cells are the structural and functional units

of life
There are two basic types of cells.
1. Prokaryotic cells
were the first to evolve (first inhabitants for ~1.5 billion years)
are simpler, and
are usually smaller than eukaryotic cells.

2. Eukaryotic cells true cells

contain membrane-enclosed organelles, including a nucleus
containing DNA, and
are found in plants, animals, and fungi.

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Figure 1.3

Eukaryotic cell

DNA
(no nucleus)

Prokaryotic
cell

Membrane

Organelles

Nucleus
(membraneenclosed)
DNA (throughout
nucleus)

1.4 Living organisms interactions

Living organisms interact with their environments,
including other organisms and physical factors
(rain, weather etc)
In most ecosystems
plants are the producers that provide the food,
consumers eat plants and other animals, and
decomposers act as recyclers, changing complex
matter into simpler mineral nutrients.

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1.4 Living organisms interactions

These organisms interact within two major
processes:
1. The recycling of chemical nutrients from the atmosphere
and soil through producers, consumers, and
decomposers back to the environment
1. Ex. Carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle

2. The one-way flow of energy through an ecosystem,

entering as sunlight, converted to chemical energy by
producers, passed on to consumers, and exiting as heat
(lost energy)
1. Food chain
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Figure 1.4

Ecosystem

O2

O2
Sunlight

Heat
Producers
(such as
plants)

Consumers
(such as
animals)
Chemical energy
(food)

CO2

Water and minerals

taken up by tree roots

CO2

Cycling of
chemical nutrients

Decomposers
(in soil)

Now that we know what biology is and how it is organized..

EVOLUTION, THE CORE THEME OF BIOLOGY

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1.5 The unity of life is based on DNA and a

common genetic code
Before we talk about how we evolve we must talk
about how we do it.
DNA is the building block of genes
A species genes are coded in the sequences of
the four building blocks (nucleotides) making up
DNAs double helix
All forms of life use essentially the same code to
translate the information stored in DNA into proteins.
Similar to binary code (creates the blueprints to grow)

A
G

C
C

A
C

T
A

T
A

1.5 The unity of life is based on DNA and a

common genetic code
DNA is a double helix shape
It is made of two long chains of nucleotides
DNA is the chemical substance that makes up
genes
Genes are grouped into longer DNA molecules
called chromosomes.
In other words the nucleotides are the letters in the
alphabet, the DNA words, genes are sentences
and chromosomes paragraphs.

1.6 The diversity of life can be arranged into

three domains
The diversity of life arises from differences in DNA
sequences.
Biologists have identified about 1.8 million species.
Estimates of the actual number of species ranges from 10
to 100 million.

How can we identify all of them??

Taxonomy names species and classifies them into a system
of broader groups.

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1.6 The diversity of life can be arranged into

three domains
The diversity of life can be arranged into three
domains***.
1. Bacteria are the most diverse and widespread
prokaryotes (in ocean may outnumber plankton!!)
2. Archaea are prokaryotes that often live in Earths extreme
environments.
3. Eukarya have eukaryotic cells and include kingdoms of
single-celled protists and
multicellular fungi, animals, and plants.

***Classification is changing all the timeIs this new for anyone?

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Figure 1.6

Domain Bacteria

Domain Eukarya

Bacteria

Domain Archaea
Protists
(multiple kingdoms)

Kingdom Plantae

Kingdom Fungi

Kingdom Animalia

Archaea

1.7 Evolution explains the unity and diversity of

life
In 1859, Charles Darwin published the book On the
Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,
which articulated two main points.
1. Species living today are descendants of ancestral
species in what Darwin called descent with
modification.
2. Natural selection is a mechanism for evolution.

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1.7 Evolution explains the unity and diversity of

life
Natural selection was inferred by connecting two
observations.
1. Individuals in a population vary in their traits, many of
which are passed on from parents to offspring.
1. Ex. Dogs, cats, humans etc.

2. A population can produce far more offspring than the

environment can support (look at us humans!!)

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Figure 1.UN03

Observations

Inferences

Heritable
variations

Natural selection:
Unequal reproductive
success leads to
evolution of adaptations
in populations.

Overproduction
of offspring

1.7 Evolution explains the unity and diversity of

life
From these observations, Darwin inferred that
those individuals with heritable traits best suited to the
environment are more likely to survive and reproduce
than less well-suited individuals,
as a result of this unequal reproductive success over
many generations, an increasing proportion of
individuals will have the advantageous traits, and
the result will be evolutionary adaptation, the
accumulation of favorable traits in a population over
time.
Think of beans of different colors on our floor.
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Killer whale

1.8 Scientific inquiry is used to ask and answer

questions about nature

So now that we know scale, classification and a

basic theoryHow do we actually go about
studying?
Quantitative data Ex. 25 students per class
Qualitative data Ex. I had a number of students of
varying heights, weights and eye color

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1.8 Scientific inquiry is used to ask and answer

questions about nature
From these two types of data we use
inductive reasoning to draw general conclusions from
many observation, (AKA we induced it)
Behavioral data collection on mammals (lots of data)
All whales breathe air.

deductive reasoning to come up with ways to test a

hypothesis, a proposed explanation for a set of
observations.
Hypothesis testing: make a proposed explanation for a set
observation Ex. Facebook is popular, If facebook was
removed from daily life, than people would not know how to
communicate with each other
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1.8 Scientific inquiry is used to ask and answer

questions about nature
How is a theory different from a hypothesis? A
scientific theory is
much broader in scope than a hypothesis
usually general enough to generate many new, specific
hypotheses, which can then be tested, and
supported by a large and usually growing body of
evidence (For instance, social media versus facebook),
when accepted by overall community this theory
becomes a law, Ex. Newtons law.

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1.9 Scientists form and test hypotheses and share

their results
Scientists began with a set of observations and
generalizations, Ex:
poisonous animals are brightly colored and
imposters resemble poisonous species but are actually
harmless (so-called mimics)
Hypothesis: If a non-poisonous animal (snake) mimics
the color pattern of a poisonous animal in that same
area, than it will confuse a predator in that area (making
it think it was harmful and therefore not attack it)

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1.9 Scientists form and test hypotheses and share

their results
The scientists conducted a controlled
experiment, comparing
an experimental group consisting of artificial king
snakes and
a control group consisting of artificial brown snakes.
The groups differed only by one factor, the coloration of
the artificial snakes and each group was put in an area
where coral snakes were present and absent..

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Percent of total attacks

on artificial snakes

100
84%

83%

Artificial
king snakes

80

Artificial
brown snakes

60
40
20
0

17%

Coral snakes
absent

16%

Coral snakes
present

Why is science and the testing of

science important?!?!?

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1.11 Why is this important?

Human-caused environmental changes are powerful
selective forces that affect the evolution of many
species
antibiotic-resistant bacteria
pesticide-resistant pests (Round-up)
Removal of species through extinction

Other Applications:
Forensics (identification of bodies, paternity/maternity)
Conservation (identify illegal species etc)
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You should now be able to

1. Describe seven properties common to all life.
2. Describe the levels of biological organization from
molecules to the biosphere, noting the interrelationships
between levels.
3. Explain why cells are a special level in biological
organization. Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
4. Compare the dynamics of nutrients and energy in an
ecosystem.

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You should now be able to

6. Explain how DNA encodes a cells information.
7. Compare the three domains of life.
8. Describe the process and products of natural
selection. Explain why individuals cannot evolve.
9. Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative data.
10. Compare the definitions and use of inductive and
deductive reasoning in scientific investigations.
11. Distinguish between a scientific theory and a
hypothesis.
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You should now be able to

12. Distinguish between the scientific definition and
common use of the word theory.

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