10 Themes of
Biology Notes
Ten Unifying Themes of Biology
1. Biological Systems – cell, tissue, organ, organ
system, organism, population, community, ecosystem,
biosphere
Cells
Tissue
Organ
Cells working
together
Tissues
working
together
Organ
System
Organs
working
together
Organism
A living thing
1. Biological Systems – cell, tissue, organ, organ
system, organism, population, community,
ecosystem, biosphere
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
2. The Cellular Basis of Life – the cell is the smallest unit of life
3. Form and Function – the shape of things help that organism to do
what it is supposed to do (Example: the anteater’s long snout enables
it to squeeze in tight places to get food)
4. Reproduction and Inheritance – you inherit similarities from your
parents (Example: if nothing else your parents are human and so are
you!)
5. Interaction with the Environment – every organism
gives off stuff to the environment and every organism
takes stuff from the environment (Example: you give off
heat and take in food)
6. Energy and Life – Every organism needs energy to
live.
What happens when an organism runs out of
energy?
7.
Regulation and Homeostasis – Even though our
surroundings are constantly changing our internal
environment stays the same. (Example: Body
temperature)
8. Adaptation and Evolution – Adaptation is an inherited trait that helps
the organism’s ability to survive and reproduce. Evolution is just a
change over time.
9. Biology and Society –
•
How does our society affect life and how
does our understanding of biology affect
our society?
•
Cloning, Stem cell research,
environmental issues, hunting, medicine,
genetically modified crops
10. Scientific Inquiry – Asking questions, using observations or
experiments to find possible answers
Eyepiece
Body Tube
Objectives
Arm
Stage
Diaphragm
Light Source
Coarse
Adjustment
Fine Adjustment
Stage
Supports/holds slides
High Power Objective
Lens with greatest magnification
Low Power Objective
Lens with lowest magnification
Medium Power Objective
Lens with medium magnification
Eyepiece
Where you should look through the lens
Light Source
Provides light
Diaphragm
Controls the amount of light on slide
Coarse Adjustment
Brings object into focus
Fine Adjustment
Fines tunes object once it is focused
Calculating Magnification
To calculate the total magnification of a microscope you
multiply the magnification of the eyepiece by the
magnification of the objective.
Example: If a microscope has an eyepiece magnification
of 20x and an objective magnification of 50x the total
magnification of that microscope is 1000x.
If a microscope has an eyepiece magnification of 10x
and an objective magnification of 25x the total
magnification of that microscope is __________.
250x
Microscope Movement
When you move a slide on a microscope to the
left, the specimen appears to move toward the
right when viewed under the microscope.
If you move the specimen up it will appear to
move down under the microscope.
All movements under the microscope are
opposite.
Why does the opposite movement happen?
Microscope Field of View
When you switch from low power to high power a couple of
things happen.
1. Your object will be more magnified
2. Your object will need to be focused (use the fine
adjustment knob only!)
3. Your field of view will be smaller
Low Power
High Power