Honors Biology Chapter 1 – The Scope of Biology
p. 2-21
Concept 1.1: Biology – Life from Global to Microscopic
I. Def. of Biology = Study of life (Bio = life, ology = study of)
A. Curiosity – driving force for biologists
B. .Examples:
• How do penguins survive in Antarctica?
• How do plants make food from sunlight?
• Why are there so many kinds of insects?
• How do migrating birds find their way?
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II. Life is Global
A. Biosphere = all parts of planet earth that support life, including:
1. Land regions (surface and within soil and crust)
2. Most bodies of water (oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.)
3. Atmosphere (several kilometers high!)
*Extends 8 kilometers above Earth’s surface, to as far as 11 kilometers below the surface of the Earth
(Do the math – How many miles is that, if 1 mile = 1.5 km?)
B. Ecosystem = community of living things in an area, along with the nonliving features of the environment
(Central Park, NY = 1,000 x closer than Biosphere, pond is1,000,000 x closer than biosphere)
1. Ex.: desert, pond, woodland, meadow, rainforest, etc.
2. How many more can you name?
3. Text example: Central Park pond
C. Organism = individual living thing .(Zoom 1000 x closer than ecosystem)
1.Ex. in Central Park: Squirrel, oak tree, insects
2.Macroscopic to microscopic – interactions make communities dynamic
III. Life is Microscopic
A. Cells = life’s basic units of structure and function (1000x closer than organism level)
1. All organisms made up of 1 or more cells
2. Ex. Leaf cells about 25 micrometers, 700 would line up across a penny!
B. DNA and Genes (1000 x closer than cell level)
1. DNA = chemical responsible for inheritance (Passing traits from parents to offspring)
2. Genes = units of inherited instructions (all along DNA molecule)
Concept 1.2: Biology Explores Life in its Diverse Forms
I. Life is Diverse
A. Species = group of similar organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
1. 1.5 million ID’d species, more discovered daily
2. Variety: 5000 species of bacteria, 1 million species of insects, 280,000 species of plants, etc.
B.. Diversity – varies with ecosystem
1. Ex. Tropical Rain Forest – extra diverse
II. Classifying Life
A. Humans make categories of things (grouping)
B. Postal address analogy
C. Diagram of Classification of an iguana p. 8
III. Three Domains of Life (Domain = largest classification category)
A. Domain Archaea and Domain Bacteria – tiny, usually unicellular, lack a nucleus = prokaryotic
1.are two very different types of bacteria
B. Domain Eukarya – all have nucleus in cells = eukaryotic, may be unicellular or multicellular
- includes Kingdoms Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia
Concept 1.3: Ten Themes Unify the Study of Life
I. Biological Systems
A. System = combination of parts to form a more complex organization
B. Ex. Ecosystem, Multicellular Organism – both have multiple parts that function together to make a
more complex whole by how the parts interact.
II. Cellular Basis of Life
A. Unicellular – all life’s activities accomplished by specialized parts of a single cell
Ex. Orgs – bacteria, amoeba, paramecium, some algae, yeast
B. Multicellular – Cells specialize into more complex levels of function and organization
1. Levels of organization: cells to tissues to organs to organ systems to organism
III. Form and Function
A. Form of a structure will best serve its Function
1. Ex. Bird’s wing – bone structure, shape, feathers, muscles – all best suited for flight
2. Ex. Different cell shapes suit there functions in humans (Ex. Neuron, Muscle Cell, RBC)
IV. Reproduction and Inheritance
A. Living orgs must reproduce to carry on the species
B. Inheritance assures that members of the same species will have similar traits
C. Two type of reproduction:
1. Asexual = identical copies of parents, one parent only
2. Sexual = receive half of genetic info from one parent, second half from second parent
* Allows for more variety within the species!
V. Interaction with Environment
A. Ex. Plants – use raw materials (light, water, carbon dioxide) to produce food, give back to env.
products of oxygen and sugar
Also, its roots help break down rock to make more soil, when it dies, it will decompose
All = Chemical exchange
B. Ex. Stimulus – response interactions
1. Squint in bright light
2. Turn head at sharp sound
VI. Need for Energy
A. To: Move, Grow, Reproduce, Respond = examples of “work” orgs do, requiring a source of energy
B. Ways to get Energy:
1. Producers = Autotrophs = capture energy from environment (usually photosynthetic)
2. Consumers = Heterotrophs = must obtain energy from eating another organism, or decomposing it.
C. What happens to the energy?
1. Converted to other forms: Ex. Food becomes movement, some always lost as heat to environment
VII. Regulation
A. Homeostasis = regulating the body’s internal environment to a “steady state”, regardless of changes in
external environment
B. Ex. Regulating Body Temp. – sweating, panting,
VIII. Adaptation and Evolution
A. Ex. 3 types of Mantids (p. 17)
B. Adaptation = inherited trait that helps an org. better survive to reproduce in a certain envir.
C. Evolution = process of change ( in proportions of different inherited genes from generation to
generation in a particular population)
D. Natural Selection = Mechanism by which evolution takes place.
1. Ex. Light and dark colored beetles, p. 17
IX. Biology and Society
A. Biological research can improve people’s lives
1. Ex. New disease treatment, improved farming methods, environmental health, etc.
X. Scientific Inquiry
A. Biology is a science – uses scientific methods of questioning and investigating nature of life