Chapter 1 Invitation to Biology Biology is the scientific study of life Life s organization Atoms are building blocks of matter Elements pure substances Ex Hydrogen Carbon Molecules groups of atoms H2O water Macromdecules big molecules starch sugar nutrients Cell structure and functional unit of life smallest living thing emerge Emergent property as complexity increases new characteristics Emergent Properties They appear at successively higher levels Life emerges at the cellular level Organism 1 whole living thing Unicellular bacteria one celled Multicellular human many celled Multicellular organisms tissues groups of cells ex Muscle tissue Organs groups of tissues ex Heart Organ system group of organs ex cardiovascular system Population group of 1 type of organism Community all organisms in an area Ecosystem all living biotic and all nonliving abiotic in an area Biosphere all ecosystem Characteristics of Living Organisms 1 Acquire and use energy Nutrients supply chemical energy Producers make their own energy using sunlight or other nonliving substances ex Plants photosynthesis Photosynthesis process by which producers use light energy to make sugar from carbon dioxide and water Consumers acquire energy from other living things 2 Organisms respond to their environment Homeostasis maintenance of a stable internal environment Every organism senses and responds to conditions inside and outside itself 3 Organisms grow develop and reproduce Cell contain DNA blueprint of Life or Deoxyribonucleic Acid a Growth increases in size and volume of cells b development change c reproduce process of inheritance How living things are different Biodiversity living things differ tremendously in their observable Taxonomy science of naming and classifying organisms based on Taxon taxa a grouping of organisms characteristics and variation among living organisms similarities There are three Domains Bacteria Achaea and Eukarya A Bacterium Member of a large group of single celled organisms B Archaean Member of a group of single celled organisms that differ C Nucleus Double membrane sac that encloses a cell s DNA D Eukaryote Organism whose cells characteristically have a nucleus from bacteria Protists are the simplest eukaryotes ranging from amoebas to giant kelps Fungi are decomposers including mushrooms Plants are photosynthetic producers that provide food for most other organisms Animals eat other organisms they include herbivores carnivores scavengers and parasites Pro before kanyos nucleus before nucleus Unicellular Eukaryote true nucleus Unicellular or multicellular Kingdoms animals plant fungi protists Classifications Domains Kingdoms Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Genus and Species are the most important ones Carolus Linnaeus Binomial nomenclatove latin Homo sapiens Italize word Benus Capitalize and species lower case specific epithet Remember This King Philip Came Over From Germany Scientific Method Body of knowledge Way of thinking Steps of the Scientific Method 1 Observation 2 Ask a question inductive reasoning 3 Form a hypothesis possible an answer 4 prediction deductive reasoning If Then 5 Experiment Test the hypothesis A Control group No Change Base Line B Experimental group Change Independent variable what is changed dependent variable what is observed 6 Collect data information 7 Conclusion accepts or reject hypothesis Science only concerns the natural world Theory Hypothesis that has been accepted many times Law Theory that has with stood the test of time Information must be falsify able A scientific theory is a longstanding hypothesis that is useful for making predictions about other phenomenas it ids our best way of describing reality A law of nature describes something that occurs without fail but for which we do not have a complete scientific explanation There are 6 examples of Scientific Theories 1 Atomic Theory All substances consist of atoms 2 Big Bang The universe originated with an explosion and continues to 3 Cell Theory All organisms consist of one or more cells the cell is the 4 Evolution Change occurs in the inherited traits of a population over 5 Global warming Human activities are causing Earth s average 6 Plate tectonics Earth s crust is cracked into pieces that move in expand basic unit of life and all cells arise from existing cells generation temperature to increase relation to one another Individuals of a species share a unique set of traits Morphological traits Physiological traits Behavioral traits Species can be hard to distinguish biological species concept The Nature of Science 1 Critical thinking is judging the quality of information before accepting 2 Scientists make and test potentially falsifiable predictions about how the natural world works 3 Science addresses only what is observable Thinking about Thinking Critical thinking the self directed act of judging the quality of information as one learns is an important part of science Judging information before accepting it Science is the study of the observable world Generally a researcher observes something in nature uses inductive reasoning to form a hypothesis for it then uses deductive reasoning to make a prediction about what might occur if the hypothesis is not wrong