Welcome to Biology

Welcome to Biology

List five issues in the area of biology that you believe are

important in the world today.

The Science of Life

The World of BiologyChapter 1Section 1Pages: 5-9

The Science of Life What is biology?

Bio: life -logy or -ology: the study of

Biology: the study of life

What can you study as a biologist?

Organisms ranging from Bacteria to Pit Vipers to Rhinoceros

Professions involving Biology

Microbiologist Nutritionist Allergist Cardiologist Agricultural engineer Health/Phys ed

teacher Landscape architect Dentist

Naturalist Pharmacist Orthodontist Veterinarian Psychiatrist Nurse Paramedic Environmentalist

Probably more importantly to you,

professions involving biology and science make

Life In order to differentiate (mark the

difference) between something living and something nonliving scientists have defined seven characteristics that you must possess to be consider a living object.

Life Take a moment now and write down

what you think the seven characteristics of life are. We will come back to this and see how many you were able to identify correctly!

vs

1. Cellular Organization

Organization is the high degree of order within an organism's internal and external parts

A Cell is the smallest organized unit that can perform all life's processes

Cells The word cell comes from the Latin

word cella, meaning “small room” or “hut”

Two types of cellular organisms: uni: one multi: many unicellular: single celled multicelluar: made of more than

one cell

Organization → AMOCTOOS

Atom Molecule Organelle Cell Tissue Organ Organ System

Smallest unit

Largest unit

Organization → AMOCTOOS Atom: the simplest particle of an

element that retains all the properties of that element

Molecule (biological macromolecules): chemical compound that brings about cellular functions (such as structure, movement, energy use)

This can occur with biological systems and the environment outside of the cell!

Organelle:a subunit within a cell that has a specialized function

Cell: must contain genetic material, cytoplasm and a cell membrane

Organization → AMOCTOOS

Tissue: groups of cells with similar abilities organized to perform a function (job)

Organ: an anatomical (pertaining to the science concerned with the shape and structure) unit composed of tissues carrying out a specialized function

Organ System: an anatomical system composed of a group of organs that perform a specific function

2. Responsiveness An organism can respond to a

stimulus Stimulus: a physical or

chemical change in the internal or external environment

Organisms must be able to react to changes in their environment to stay alive!

3. Homeostasis homeo: of the same kind -stasis: condition of standing Homeostasis: the same standing

condition Homeostasis: the regulatory process in

which an organism regulates (keeps stable/same) its internal environment (condition)

– Recall the outside environment is constantly changing

Can you come up with some things a cell may need to regulate?

3. Homeostasis Some conditions the cell regulates:

– Temperature

– Water content

– Nutrient levels

– Salt concentration

4. Metabolism Living organisms need energy to power all

the processes involved in life– The process in which they obtain this

energy is known as metabolism Metabolism: the sum of all chemical

processes that occur in an organism– Consists of two parts

• Anabolism: the set of metabolic pathways that construct molecules from smaller units; These reactions require energy

• Catabolism:the set of metabolic pathways that break down molecules into smaller units and release energy

5. Growth and Development Actually, both living and nonliving things

can grow, so what makes a living things growth special or different?

– A nonliving thing accumulates more of the same material it is made out of

– A living thing accumulates many materials but more importantly its growth eventually leads to cell division

5. Growth and Development

Cell division: the formation of two new cells from an existing cell

5. Growth and Development

Higher order living creatures also go through a development stage, or many development stages

Development: the process by which an organism becomes a mature adult

6. Reproduction It is important to note that reproduction IS

NOT essential to the survival of an organism

However, an organism must cease to live and therefore reproduction is essential for the species

Reproduction: the process of producing offspring

– What is the essential part of reproduction?

6. Reproduction The essential part of reproduction is

passing on your heredity information

– What is the heredity information called?

• DNA, which contains genes

6. Reproduction So what exactly is a gene?

– Gene: a sequence of DNA that provides the blueprint for a specific trait

Think of your DNA as a cookbook and a genes as recipes. In order to make a meal, or run a organism, you need to use many recipes, or make many molecules. Each recipe in the cookbook makes a very specific part of the meal, and not all recipes are used in every meal!

6. Reproduction Can anyone name the two forms of

reproduction?

– Sexual reproduction: DNA recombines from two organisms of the same species resulting in offspring that are similar but not identical to the parents

– Asexual reproduction:genetic information is not combined between two organisms so the offspring is identical to the parent

7. Adaptability Fact: the environment is constantly changing In light of this well documented fact, if a

species is to survive this changing environment it needs to be able to adapt

– Evolution occurs when an adaptation becomes a permanent characteristic of a species, which becomes it own species (we will have a more specific definition later in the year)

7. Adaptability This is the American pika (Ochotona

princeps)

7. Adaptability They live in the uppermost part of

Glacier National Park and other high ranges in America

7. Adaptability The pika live high in the mountains,

above the treeline and are extremely good at keeping themselves warm with their own body heat

7. Adaptability The problem is that they are not very

good at cooling their bodies and because of climate change Glacier National Park's temperature is rising very quickly

7. Adaptability The pika have three options: move,

adapt, or die

Let's Review What were the seven characteristics of

life?

1. Cellular organization2. Responsive3. Homeostasis4. Metabolism5. Growth and development6. Reproduction7. Adaptability

Homework

Read Chapter 1 Section 1 and complete the following questions:

Biology: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8 & 10

CP and Honors Biology: 1, 3-5, 7, 8 & 10