EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE Chapter 1 Science formal method of generating new knowledge that aims to build a supportable and evidence based understanding of our natural world Essentially a learned cultural trait that has been influenced by fast paced technology Hypotheses Scientists use observations and reasoning to develop explanations for natural phenomena Can be falsified Not all can be tested experimentally e g historical examples where parsimony principle occam s razor is used the simplest explanation for the data is most likely the correct one Louis Pasteur s hypothesis of spontaneous generation cells were thought to develop spontaneously from nonliving matter by the action of heat light moisture etc Falsified and supported that cells arise only from preexisting cells The cell theory all organisms are made of cells and that all cells come from preexisting cells Scientific Theories supported by multiple independent lines of evidence considered especially robust Always open to falsification if new evidence is presented Why to care about science very involved in our lives and is there for good bad moral purposes e g medicine or bombs Peer review process tests that authors submitting scientific papers aren t engaged in scientific misconduct Submitting literature and letting it be viewed by others is a key part in scientific research culture Theory a well supported scientific explanation that explains a large number of linked natural phenomena Limitations of science things you can t test Requires qualitatively different approaches using empirical data to generate sophisticated simulation models in order to predict likely outcomes Government interference can reward bad science for political reasons e g Stalin believing wrong scientist and the repercussions Chapter 2 A living entity Is predominantly carbon and water based o Oxygen and Hydrogen Most of the Oxygen and Hydrogen is in the form of water H2O 70 of our body weight o Carbon provides the backbone for our constituent organic molecules Proteins Nucleic Acids Carbohydrates Lipids o Water and organics the prerequisites for the chemistry of life Is composed of cells o Hooke used a primitive compound microscope o He coined the term cells after the tiny rooms cellula of monks Contains heritable genetic information genome o Encoded DNA w 4 nucleotide bases GATC Humans have 3 billion ish nucleotides codes for 20 25 thousand genes and have 24 distinct chromosomes Is capable of growth Acquires energy and materials from its surroundings Can respond to environmental stimuli e g Venus flytrap Can reproduce is self replicating Evolves over many generations through natural selection o An argument is that we don t see anything actually evolve but that s not true Example resistance to antibiotics Extremely complicated because evolved over billions of years A virus is not regarded as being fully alive Not cellular just a cluster of molecules Not capable of metabolism can t aquire and use energy alone Are predominantly carbon and water based contains heritable genetic information capable of evolving can respond to environmental stimuli can recognize available host cell needs mechanism of other living cell to reproduce can t grow and evolves over many generations through natural selection Emergent properties an attribute of a system that is absent from lower levels of organization Why should we care about ecology Rapid Progressive Shrinking of the Arctic Summer Ice Cap is a dramatic indicator of accelerating Global Warming trends 15 37 of terrestrial plants and animals are at a risk of extinction due to Global Warming by 2050 Why should we care about evolution Health risks and diseases could evolve to be antibiotic resistant The Genomic Age present age of evolutionary biology Sequencing entire genomes will allow us to reconstruct evolutionary genealogical relationships in unprecedented detail Biological diversity variety of all living things on our planet such as the different plants animals and microorganisms This also includes the genetic information and ecosystems Taxonomy the science of naming and classifying the diversity of organisms Fungi play a central role in ecosystems by recycling chemical nutrients embodied in dead tissue making them available to primary producers Linnean System w 5 Kingdoms grouped organisms together based on apparent similarity assumed that organisms remain static through time no evolution Monera prokaryotes all 3 protista unicellular eukaryotes all 3 plantae producers fungi decomposers animalia consumers Eukaryotes have membrane bound nucleus and are multi cellular Prokaryotes do not have membrane bound nucleus Smaller than eukaryotes Darwin s evolutionary perspective changed the emphasis to a genealogical perspective and to the inference of ancestor descendant relationships in establishing evolutionary relationships among all life forms living and dead Phylogeny the study of the connections shown in tree like diagrams between all groups of organisms as understood by ancestor descendant relationships Phylogenetic perspective of earth s biodiversity is based on gene sequences The three major branchs are domain bacteria domain archaea domain eukarya 2 prokaryotic Lecture 3 Biotic Ecology study of how organisms interact with their environment One of central goals is understand the distribution and abundance of organisms Organism s environment consists of abiotic physical factors and biotic factors other organisms Abiotic nonliving and include temperature water sunlight wind rocks and soil Environments are defined on land by climate average value and annual variation in temperature and in moisture in water physical structure water depth Light penetrates farther in freshwater than in seawater Sunlight per unit area Areas of the world are warm if they receive a large amount of sunlight per unit area they are cold if they receive a small amount of sunlight per unit area Earth s shape dictates that regions at or near the equator receive more sunlight per unit area than regions that are closer to the poles Differential Heating forms giant convection cells in the atmosphere that profoundly influence regional precipitation patterns Equator receives most moisture 30N and S are driest on earth Hadley cell responsible for precipitation patterns it is a major cycle in global air circulation The Earth s Rotation imposes directionality predictability on Hadley Cell derived wind systems because air flowing close to earth s surface