Welcome to Biology What is Biology It is
Welcome to Biology!
What is Biology? • It is the study of life. • Branch of science • A way of understanding nature. • A human endeavor • An attempt to understand, explain, integrate and describe the world of living things.
What is Biology? • It includes: • Zoology: Study of animals • Botany: Study of plants • Microbiology: Study of microscopic life • Ecology: Study of the relationships between life and the environment • Genetics: The study of how living things reproduce and pass on their genes • Biochemistry: Study of the chemistry of life.
Characteristics of Life 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Cellular composition Growth Reproduction Movement Adaptation 6. 7. 8. 9. Metabolism Specific organization Homeostasis Responsiveness
Cellular Composition • Made up of at least one cell • Unicellular - made of one cell (bacteria, amoeba, paramecium) • Multicellular - made up of two or more cells (plants, fungi, animals)
Growth Increase in cell size (unicellular) and/or an increase in cell number (multicellular)
Reproduction • Asexual- cell division (mitosis)—one cell becomes two Ex: bacteria • Sexual- union of sex cells (sperm and egg) Ex: plants and animals
Movement • 3 types: A. Place to Place- (ex: bear running, bird flying, etc) B. External Part- (ex: + phototropism, plants orient leaves toward sun) C. Internal- (ex: cytoplasmic streaming)
Adaptation • Changing to meet the needs of the environment Examples: 1. Bird migration- behavioral adaptation
Adaptation (continued) 2. Human body temperature- Physiological adaptation 3. Hibernation- physiological adaptation 4. Hare ear length (desert vs. arctic hares)- structural adaptation
Metabolism • Set of chemical reactions that convert “food” into energy
Specific Organization • Certain parts do specific jobs (ex: heart, nucleus, chloroplasts, etc)
Homeostasis • Maintaining the same state Homeo = same, steady Stasis = state Examples: -Water balance inside and outside of cell -Human body temperature *Cells function best when these are in balance
Responsiveness • Reaction(s) to various stimuli Examples of stimuli: light, heat, p. H, vibration, smell, etc. – earthworms respond to all of these
How is Biology studied? Insert F 01 -06
Scientific Method • Begins with observations about our surroundings. • Next, ask questions about the phenomena we are observing.
Scientific Method • Followed by generating a hypothesis. • Tentative explanation to the question.
Scientific Method • Testing • Scientists perform tests to determine the accuracy of their hypothesis.
Scientific Method • Explanation • It is a hypothesis that has passed the widest and most comprehensive series of tests. • Still subject to review and consideration. • May be elevated to a theory = well demonstrated principle.
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